Emily Smith
Creative director, Lafayette 148 New York | B.F.A., fashion, 2001
Emboldened by fashion from a very young age, Atlanta native Emily Smith followed her passion to the Savannah College of Art and Design, where she earned a B.F.A. in fashion in 2001. After graduating and holding internships at eskandar and Bill Blass, she joined Lafayette 148 New York in 2002 as a design assistant. Since then, her warm, collaborative design approach, technical mastery, and penchant for perfecting garments from the inside out propelled her to creative director of the brand and a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). From trend forecasting to collection development, Smith guides Lafayette 148 New York to a new level of luxury, supported by a gifted team she built to chart the brand's next chapter.