In the urban jungle, always dress for danger — that seemed to be the statement LaQuan Smith was making Tuesday night to close New York Fashion Week.
Holsters disguising machetes were affixed to sheer leggings in transparent hosiery fabric. Worn with pelvic-framing bodysuits, the look screamed Laura Croft in “Tomb Raider.” Combined with the genuine fox fur bags and stoles, massive alligator belts and snakeskin printed chiffon, Smith might have earned himself a spot on PETA’s watch list.
To reference Nigel in “The Devil Wears Prada,” Smith unleashed the animal within to take on the big city. “I think this collection is sort of spotlighting things that are provocative and dangerous at the same time,” he said. His girl lives on the edge, which is why he chose to show at the Classic Car Club on Pier76 surrounded by turbocharged supercars from Lamborghini and Maserati.
It was an unexpected venue, but “very New York,” the Queens native added, and “this season, for me, was all about bringing back what grit and glamour really looks like as a New Yorker.”
Grit came through in slouchy tailoring and trenchcoats with linebacker shoulders, while crystal and turquoise embroidered dresses were all glamour. Unraveling on the runway, they made one watch with trepidation should a model slip on a stray bead and fall (none did).
Backstage, Smith fawned over Izabel Goulart, who flew in from China just to walk his show. Wearing a slashed leather moto set with cross-lacing up the legs and torso, he stated: “She’s clearly on a mission.
“She’s looking for something to make her man jealous, something that’s going to turn heads,” he continued. “When I do basic and boring, it does not sell.”
But Smith was on his own mission, too. Like most designers who showed this week, he’s independent and this was his send-off to editors and buyers before they flock to Europe, where the new creative directors are set to make their debuts at goliath luxury houses. He reminded them that there’s horsepower in being small and not to count New York out.