Designer Sergio Hudson on the '90s, Beyoncé, what fashion industry is 'scared' of
NEW YORK – Sergio Hudson is at the top of his game.
But his reign as the king of suiting – dressing A-list stars and collecting fashion awards – didn't come easy.
"They aren't just going to let you in," he says with a laugh backstage ahead of his New York Fashion Week show, thinking of the advice he would give his younger self. "If I knew that going in, it would have been a lot easier."
"Collection 11," which he showcased in February at Spring Studios during fashion week, tapped into the colorful suiting and dresses for which Hudson has become known.
"I wanted people to feel good when they saw it," Hudson says. "I feel like people are so scared about where we're going with the economy and all of that … and I'm just like, 'Can I just give somebody something to be happy about?'"
Sergio Hudson's NYFW show: Kimora Lee Simmons cheers on lookalike daughter Aoki walking the runway
His latest collection is inspired by graffiti artist Jason Naylor, who "does a lot of neons and inspirational quotes in his artwork and messaging," Hudson says, "and I wanted to infuse that into this collection."
Reference points for the collection – which was infused with neon colors, short hemlines and statement prints – incorporated '90s icons including Fran Fine of "The Nanny," Hilary Banks of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and Barbie.
"It's when I grew up, late '80s, early '90s is my era. I fell in love with fashion at 5 years old, watching CNN with Elsa Klensch," Hudson says. "So always in some way that's going to be referenced in any collection that I do. Even if I tried to get away from it, it always comes back, because when I fell in love with fashion is how I see women. Even when I do hair and makeup everybody's like, 'Oh, you just have like a '90s twist.' It's just me."
Hudson's designs have draped celebrities from Michelle Obama at the 2021 inauguration to Beyoncé, though Hudson plays coy about whether he'll be designing any special looks for Beyoncé's upcoming Renaissance World Tour.
"To be continued," he says. "We're always in the mix with Bey and her team. We love working with her. She loves the clothes. So you know, she's the queen, she can have whatever she wants."
But Hudson doesn't create only for celebrities.
"I design for every type of body," Hudson says, noting "we take painstaking work to make sure that our collection is made for real women.
"This is something that I think people are scared to discuss, but I'm not," he says. As a brand, "you have a size range that you run in. There are pretty much seven sizes. So if you choose to do a size 0 to a 12, that's what you do. And if you try to go from 12 to 24, then you're paying for a whole new collection. Once you get to like a size 12, you go up above that you have to cut a new sample."
Hudson says the industry has "snobs that don't like making big clothes," but some smaller brands "just can't afford to" add more sizes.
"I go up to (a size) 16, and it's really expensive just to get those extra two sizes. But I've committed to doing it."
In Hudson's fashion shows, "there are different sizes of women, but you will never see just a token. Anytime you see a woman in my show, she belongs in my show, and I'm not just throwing her in."
But the designer doesn't feel that other shows treat plus-size models the same. "When you look at these shows and you see the plus-size model, the clothes look terrible on them because they don't make clothes for women that size. It's almost disrespectful to use someone. Being a token is not fun, and I don't take part in that."
It's not just size inclusivity Hudson is committed to. He also showcases models of different ages.
"It's almost like the forgotten thing that young women aren't the main people that buy these clothes. So in my show, you'll see everyone from the 22-year-old model up to the 57-year-old Veronica Webb. Even this season, I had a couple of people saying 'You should let Veronica sit front row,' and I was like 'Why would I?' She's a model. Just because she's older doesn't mean she can't be in my show."
Here's more from USA TODAY's interview with Hudson:
On whether the economic downturn has affected the business:
"It hasn't impacted us yet," he says with a laugh. "I feel like people who aren't going to buy clothes at this price point are going to buy them at this price point, whether the economy is on a downturn or not. I feel like the good thing … is the people that buy our collection are people that invest in clothing on the normal."
On his 2022 Target collaboration:
"It was definitely a moment because how many times do you get opportunity to speak to the people that supported you on your way up? They can't support you now by buying a garment from Bergdorf Goodman, but you can give them the great gift of being able to shop you at an affordable price point."
On being Black in fashion:
"I think I'm more on a mission to normalize us being in this industry and not being categorized," Hudson says. "Even if you take some take some of the other minorities in this industry, be it Asian, be it female, you don't hear them say 'Asian designer Jason Wu,' 'female designer,' you don't hear that. But if I get a feature somewhere, (it's) Black designer.
"Yes, we want to be acknowledged, and we want to be accepted, and we want to be equal. But we don't want to be marginalized. And we don't want to be set apart and aside. Give us the opportunity, put us in the mix, if we can do it then we can do it. Don't give us any special treatment, because we're Black. Give us the opportunity, and we can show you what we can do."
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Keke Palmer, Beyonce wear Sergio Hudson fashions. Now, he's talking.
