Willi Smith – February 29

Photo: Education Department, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. “Smithsonian Learning Lab Resource: Willi Smith.” Smithsonian Learning Lab. 01 Jan. 1970. Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access. 19 Feb. 2021.

“I don’t design clothes for the Queen, but for the people who wave at

her as she goes by.”

Born: February 29, 1948

Died: April 17, 1987, New York, NY

Birthplace: Philadelphia, PA

Known for: Urban lifestyle and streetwear inspired collections.

Retail Category: Ready-to-Wear, Accessories

Brands: WilliWear Limited

Awards: Coty Award for women’s fashion, 1983. Cutty Sark, Men’s Fashion Award, 1985. February 23rd is Willi Smith Day, proclaimed by then Mayor Dinkins, 1988. He has a  bronze plaque on the Fashion Walk of Fame along Seventh Avenue in NYC, 2002.

Fun Facts: In the seventies he designed patterns for the Butterick pattern company. By 1986 his company had grossed over $25 million in sales. At the time, he was regarded as one of the most successful African-American designers in the fashion industry. His designs were featured in the films in Made in New York (1984) and Expedition (1985), as well as in Spike Lee’s School Daze (1987).