During his 20-year career, Willi Smith (1948–1987) united fashion and American culture, marrying affordable, adaptable basics with avant-garde performance, film, art, and design. At the time of his sudden death from AIDS-related illness, Smith was considered to be the most commercially successful Black American designer of the 20th century and a pioneer of “street couture”—fashion inspired by the creativity of people from the cities to the suburbs that captured the egalitarian spirit of the age. 

In honor of Willi Smith Day and Black History Month, join Alexandra Cunningham Cameron and Darnell-Jamal Lisby for a discussion of key WilliWear projects that exhibit the designer’s work to increase visibility for Black culture and creativity.   

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