Introduction

Performance

Willi Smith wanted to see his clothing perform on the street and on the stage. He designed costumes for dancer-choreographers like Dianne McIntyre and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance co, and WilliWear commissioned musical scores, video-art, and expressive runway events in which models danced down the catwalk. Smith saw movement as an opportunity to emphasize the flexibility of his fashions and to support the work of conceptual artists and Black performers uniting dance with Black sound, storytelling, and queer and cross-racial intimacy.