Willi Smith (1948 - 1987) - a photo on Flickriver

Willi Smith (1948 - 1987)

            When I lived in New York, I dressed a lot better than I do today. Now, I am lucky if my socks match!  

In the mid 1980s, my favorite designer was Willi Smith. Willi was the most successful African American designer in fashion history. The name of his company was Williwear. His clothes were very cool looking, fun and affordable. His style was oversized; large shouldered jackets and baggy pleated trousers.

Since I was working on my Autographs project, I figured I’d try and get him to sign a drawing. This one turned out to be quite easy. I contacted his office and spoke to his assistant. She was very helpful and after a couple of months, since he was very busy, I finally got an appointment with him. He laughed when he saw the drawing and said, “You got me, wrinkles and all!” He said he was flattered and thanked me. He was happy to autograph my drawing. I found him to be extremely nice and I enjoyed talking to him. 

Sadly, a month after I met him, he died from complications of AIDS, on 17 April 1987. His death was a huge loss to the fashion industry. I was very lucky to have met him.

Taken on: January 21, 2017

Tags:

willi smith

williwear

caricature

pencil

drawing « less

Sets appears in: • Tulka Illustration • Autographs

Stats: 2,307 views

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