NEW YORK

Julia Fox, fresh from her breakup with artist formerly known as Kanye West, opened LaQuan Smith’s New York Fashion Week show in black as the designer paid tribute to her beloved late mentor , Andre Leon Talley, with a moment of silence Monday night inside a century- old private club.

His guests scattered in the rooms of the Down Town Association, among the oldest private clubs in the city, Smith released a sexy refined but still signature collection full of sparkle in gold, blue and red, and tiny minis with cutouts cut in the right places. .

After the show, Fox told The Associated Press about her split with Ye, “I love Kanye. We’re still really good friends and I wish him nothing but the best.

The split with Fox after six weeks of dating came as Ye fumed on social media about his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian West, and new beau Pete Davidson. Sunday evening, on Valentine’s Day, he posted a truckload of red roses he had delivered to the Hidden Hills, California mansion where Kim lives with their four children. It’s a house they used to share.

To open Smith’s show, Fox wore a high-necked, long-sleeved black evening dress with cutouts at the stomach, chest and back that hugged her body at the 163-year-old club in the Financial District. Like other clubs of the time, the Down Town Association – filled with marble and deeply stained wood – was once men’s only but began admitting women in 1985. Its walls remain adorned with painted portraits of white men .

Smith, one of the few black designers to establish itself at New York Fashion Week, remains a staple for young people and partygoers. He told the AP in a backstage interview that he chose the club because he was looking for a change of mood after taking over the Empire State Building’s observation deck last September for his parade. of fashion week.

“I’m excited about this space,” he said. “I wanted to do something that felt romantic in a way. This show and this season is really about New York’s revival, celebrating New York designers, celebrating American designers.

The women who buy his clothes, Smith said, are “all about being the center of attention.” They won’t be disappointed by her bold use of color and sequins, or her shimmering leotards worn with low-rise, thong-back pants. But this season, it wasn’t just about baring skin.

Smith pulled out some classics in camel coats and fur-trimmed day dresses befitting ladies lunching rather than partying until dawn. A coat came in luscious moss green leather with a soft, comfortable lapel and lining. He put the Smith touch on the set by showing it on a little leo, his model in dark tones with a statement necklace as a finish.

Her latest collection remained mostly on the va-va-voom on which Smith built her reputation.

“Women go shopping and that’s even more of an incentive,” he said. “It’s about giving people a sense of hope. People want to party. People want to dress up.

Of Talley, who died Jan. 18, Smith said it took him a long time to grieve. The legendary Vogue editor took Smith under his wing when the designer was just 21. He was more than a mentor, Smith said. He fed him when he needed it most.

“He changed my life. André gave me money to go to Paris. I had never been to Paris before. André said you take this check and you go to Paris and sit just in a cafe. You go to the Champs-Élysées. He really believed in me when I was 21.”

Smith, 33, from Queens, created his eponymous label in 2013. He has dressed Beyoncé, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Kardashian West and Hailey Bieber. But he never won a victory at the Oscars, which will be held this year on March 27. Smith’s main focus is on cocktails and parties, rather than prom dresses, but he hopes to stay in construction mode.

“I haven’t had that opportunity yet,” Smith said of the Oscars. “I’m really looking forward to the future. I’m very optimistic.”

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Associated Press writers Aron Ranen and John Carucci in New York City contributed to this story.