Cooper Hewitt

1983 was a major year for Willi Smith . The New York City-based designer won the Coty American Fashion Critics Award for Womenswear— only the second Black designer to do so. When he was first nominated in 1967, Smith was the youngest designer ever in the running for the prestigious title. His brand, WilliWear, is credited as the pioneer to the streetwear movement we know today. Willi Smith: Street Couture , a retrospective exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt museum, explores the