Modest, refined and undeniably lovely, designer Laura Smalls is poised to take the fashion world by storm with her elegant and sophisticated clothing line. Born into the arts, Small’s father was a musician who played regularly at the world famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. She remembers vividly the wonderful fashions her father would wear at the time. She recalls, “…he would have the silk shark skin suits, he would have blue velour suits, I used to just go in the closet and look at the fabrics…” Even at a very early age, there was no doubt that Laura Smalls was destined to create beautiful clothing for powerful people.With formal design training from Parsons School of Fashion, Smalls describes her design aesthetic as clean, structured and tailored. It was this same aesthetic that captured the eye of First Lady Michelle Obama. In May of 2011, the First Lady donned Laura Smalls’s lime-green and black optic-print sleeveless dress at reception in the White House’s East Room celebrating Cinco de Mayo.The First Lady is not the only one who admires the work of Mrs. Smalls. Andre Leon Talley, Editor-at-Large for Vogue and one of the most powerful voices in fashion also sings the praise of designer Laura Smalls. In fact, it was Talley who encouraged her to truly venture out into creating her own fashion line. Lovable, hard-working and creative fashion designer, Laura Smalls shares her story and opens about how she made it. 

Episode Credits

• Original music by Kenneth Whalum III
• Director: Jon Goff
• Executive Producer: Liz Burr
• Producer: Raven Carter
• Associate Producer: Metanoya Z. Webb
• Camera Operator: Leighton Pope
• Makeup: Mimi Kamara