In a last-minute change of plans, LaQuan Smith cancelled his fall 2025 show, instead inviting clients and buyers to his Long Island City design studio to pore over his latest offering. While he assured us that there will be more shows to come (his are always star-studded, late-night affairs) “it’s really an important time to focus on my business, focus on the collection, focus on my market,” he said. “Right now I’m doing something a little bit different.” Nonetheless, the designer’s latest collection was very much in line with his signature aesthetic: sexy, audacious, and in his words “a little bit dangerous.”
Smith took the classic and usually demure houndstooth print and fashioned it in pony hair for a patent leather-trimmed cropped jacket and a pencil skirt with an ultra-high slit. Nipped waist blazers in wool and tweed—along with a silk pussybow blouse marked by shimmery pinstripes—screamed office siren. Though Smith leaned into tailoring with suiting separates embellished with mini heat-set crystals and a pair of cummerbund trousers, “I don’t want to forget about my woman who is obsessed with her body and loves to go out and have a great time and really be empowered by her own humanity.” To that end, Smith revived his telltale catsuits—one in black lace that was completely sheer, save for a small strip of fabric between the legs that would prevent an indecent exposure arrest.
Smith’s longtime inspirations—among them Norma Kamali, Lil’ Kim, and his hometown New York City—were palpable in his flashy, oversized outerwear, including a sweeping royal blue faux fur coat. Growing up, Smith saw the women in his family wearing furs for church, funerals, and to celebrate milestones like anniversaries. “To me that was the blueprint of what success looked like and what glamour looked like, so I still stand firm in that,” he said.
We know the designer has a knack for overtly sexy looks, so it was nice to see an open cage-knit jacket and mock-neck column dress, both covered in chunky crystals hand sewn in India. Still sultry, but a less expected direction that he should continue to follow.
