Willi Smith facts for kids

Willi Donnell Smith (born February 29, 1948 – died April 17, 1987) was a very important American fashion designer. When he passed away, many people saw him as one of the most successful African-American designers in the fashion world.

His company, WilliWear Limited, started in 1976. By 1986, it was making over $25 million in sales! WilliWear was special because it was the first clothing company to create clothes for both women and men under the same brand. Willi Smith's clothing was easy to get and affordable. This helped make fashion more open and fair for everyone.

Early Life and Dreams

Willi Smith was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents, Willie Lee Smith and June Eileen Smith, loved clothes very much. Willi's grandmother worked for a family who knew a famous designer named Arnold Scaasi. She helped Willi get a chance to work with Scaasi as an intern.

Even as a boy, Willi spent many hours drawing. He would sketch on the floor of his home and at the Philadelphia Museum College of Art. He once said, "I loved to draw and design clothes, and my mother told me I was born to be an artist or designer." His grandmother, Gladys Bush, always encouraged him to follow his dreams in design.

Education and Learning

Willi Smith studied commercial art at Mastbaum Technical High School. He also took a course in fashion illustration at the Philadelphia Museum College of Art. Later, he moved to New York City to attend Parsons The New School for Design. This is a well-known art and design college.

He received two scholarships to help pay for his studies at Parsons. In 1965, he worked as an intern for designer Arnold Scaasi. He started studying fashion design at Parsons in the fall of that year. Designer Arthur McGee was also a mentor to Willi Smith, guiding him in his early career.

Designing Career

In 1967, Willi Smith left Parsons to start designing on his own. He found ideas for his designs by watching what people wore on the streets of New York. He became friends with model Bethann Hardison in 1967. She became the fit model for his designs and a close friend.

From 1969 to 1973, Smith was the main designer for a junior sportswear brand called Digits. He met his future business partner, Laurie Mallet, in 1970. She later became his design assistant at Digits.

In 1972, Smith was nominated for the Coty American Fashion Critics' Award. He was nominated again in 1973. That same year, he started designing patterns for the company Butterick. Willi Smith left Digits in 1973.

In 1974, Smith tried to start his own label, Willi Smith Designs, Inc., with his sister Toukie Smith and friend Harrison Rivera-Terreaux. However, they faced challenges with the business side, and the company closed a few months later.

Starting WilliWear

Willi Smith kept designing. In 1976, he traveled to Bombay (Mumbai) India with Laurie Mallet. They made a small collection of women's clothes using natural fabrics. This collection was very successful.

Soon after, Smith and Mallet created the label WilliWear Ltd. Laurie Mallet was the President, and Willi Smith was the Vice President and lead designer. The first WilliWear fashion show was held in 1978. It showed clothes inspired by sailor uniforms and clothes from Southeast Asia. WilliWear shows were often held in unusual places, not just traditional fashion venues.

WilliWear became a huge success. It offered stylish clothes for modern women, and later men, at prices people could afford. The clothes were also made from natural fabrics. In 1982, Smith launched the first WilliWear men's collection.

After being nominated five times, Willi Smith finally won the Coty American Fashion Critics’ Award in 1983. This was a big achievement in the fashion world.

WilliWear created many popular collections between 1982 and 1986. By 1986, the company's sales reached $25 million. Smith and Mallet also worked with artists to make the brand even more famous.

After Willi Smith passed away on April 17, 1987, Laurie Mallet continued to run WilliWear. However, without Willi Smith's creative vision, the company struggled. It stopped making clothes in 1990.

Creative Collaborations

Willi Smith loved art and worked with many artists from 1973 until his death. He designed costumes for dance performances, including those by choreographer Dianne McIntyre and the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. He also designed for theater productions.

In 1984, Smith and Mallet worked with twenty-one modern artists to design T-shirts. These T-shirts had original artwork silk-screened onto them. Artists like Keith Haring and Barbara Kruger were part of this project.

These T-shirts were part of a collection and video called Made in New York (1984). This video was the first short film WilliWear made to show Smith's clothes in action on the street. It combined art, fashion, and film. In 1985, Smith also worked on a short film called Expedition, which was filmed in Senegal. It showed clothes inspired by Senegalese street fashion.

Willi Smith also designed costumes for movies, like Spike Lee’s School Daze (1987). He created the homecoming court costumes for the film. His fashion shows often included video art and music, making them unique experiences.

Smith also designed special outfits for famous people. He designed the suits for Edwin Schlossberg and his groomsmen when he married Caroline Kennedy in 1986. He even designed the wedding dress for Mary Jane Watson when she married Peter Parker in a live performance based on a comic book in 1987.

Additionally, Smith designed uniforms for workers on art installations by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, such as Surrounded Islands (1983) and Pont Neuf Wrapped (1985) in Paris.

Legacy and Impact

Willi Smith was one of the first American designers to create clothes inspired by everyday people. He watched what people wore on city streets and made sportswear that connected to commercial streetwear. He also used natural fabrics from India for his WilliWear collections.

Smith helped blur the lines between men's and women's fashion. He created clothes for both his WilliWear Men's and Women's collections. He also made fashion more accessible by keeping WilliWear clothes affordable. He even partnered with pattern companies like Butterick and McCall's to create home sewing patterns of his designs. This meant people could make his clothes themselves.

Willi Smith wanted his clothing to be worn by people from all different backgrounds, not just a select few. His brand, WilliWear, helped pave the way for later streetwear brands like FUBU. His gender-neutral collections were also early examples of what we now call gender-neutral fashion.

Many young designers and artists worked at WilliWear before becoming successful on their own. These included Antthony Mark Hankins, James Mischka, and Andre Walker.

Exhibitions

In 1981, Willi Smith's designs were shown in the Black Fashion Museum’s Bridal Gowns of Black Designers exhibition. He designed a special two-piece wedding outfit that was featured in the show.

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum hosted the first major exhibition about Willi Smith starting in March 2020. The show highlighted how Willi Smith's work was collaborative and accessible to many people. There is also a Willi Smith Digital Community Archive where the public can share and learn more about his life and work.

Awards and Honors

• Willi Smith received two scholarships to attend Parsons School of Design in 1965.
• In September 1983, he won an American Fashion Critics' Coty Award for women's fashion. He was the second African American designer to win this important award.
• In 1985, Smith won a Cutty Sark Men's Fashion Award.
• In 1988, the mayor of New York City, David Dinkins, declared February 23 "Willi Smith Day" to honor his achievements.
• In 2002, Smith was honored with a bronze plaque on the Fashion Walk of Fame along Seventh Avenue in New York City.