Sergio Hudson (Q9120)
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Sergio Hudson is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Sergio Hudson |
Sergio Hudson is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
It may be frightening to think about, but this generation of young kids are robbed of many simple life pleasures, like stumbling come across old movies on cable television. “When we millennials were young, we would just sit at home and watch old movies that came on TV,” reminisced designer Sergio Hudson. It’s true: Today, streaming services make choosing a film that much easier. There’s less spontaneity in the process, and less opportunity to come across unexpected gems you’d never watch otherwise. One such film—1967’sValley of the Dolls, chronicling the rise and fall of three women in show business—happened to serve as the main inspiration for Hudson’s new spring collection. “I loved that movie—I used to watch it every time it came on,” he said. “It’s so campy!”If the designer took one aesthetic from the cult classic, it was most definitely the color palette. With the original costuming all set around a pastel cotton-candy fever dream of looks, Hudson wanted to apply the same sugary palette to his signature tailored suits, knit dresses, and evening gowns. “I’ve been in a dark place this year, so the color really lifted me,” he said. His double-breasted suits—always cut to perfection—came in lovely shades of lilac or robin egg blue. The sleeves were also given more of a pulled-up silhouette, for an added sense of fun and ease. “I wanted to offer some easier jackets, because my jackets are always so cinched and structured,” said Hudson. His relaxed evening looks, like a knit tee tucked into a high-waisted silk skirt, were done in butter yellow. They looked almost good enough to eat.Something fresh for the designer, meanwhile, was his foray into menswear. He felt it was time to introduce some pieces for him. “I’m always dressing women and their husbands go, ‘When are you making clothes for me?’ I’ve been hearing that for years,” said Hudson. His assortment felt perfectly in tune with the womenswear: he created pale pink single-breasted suits, minty green draped tops, and navy sequin tees—not your Average Joe pieces. “I really wanted to present something new and fresh, and [show] that we have range,” said Hudson.Given the 1960s reference of theDolls, Hudson also experimented with more retro silhouettes, another first for him. This came through via Peter Pan collars and capped sleeves, added onto a double-breasted buttoned dress (very Mad Men) or floor-length sequin gown.
Hudson said he isn’t a big fan of shimmer—but if he was paying homage to the Dolls, a little shine was a must. (Don’t miss the white long-sleeves sequin gown on ’90s supermodel Veronica Webb). “I’m more of a matte fabric person,” he said. “I like to call this minimal—but grand.”
7 September 2024
For resort, designer Sergio Hudson attributes his new seasonal inspiration to a recent dream that he had. “I’m not a mystical designer, but I had a dream about a dress inspired by a tuxedo,” he said. The imaginary concept ignited an idea—to configure his whole collection around reinterpreting and reinventing the formal evening suit, and make it feel fresh. “Not a lot of brands do them for women,” said Hudson, who wanted to capture the sleek silhouette in everything from structured jackets to floor-length coat-dresses.Hudson reworked the tuxedo in both casual and dressy iterations. On the daywear side, the designer experimented with denim, creating a belted denim coat that incorporated tuxedo lapels, then paired it with a gold sequin dress. “I added gold stitching on the denim to make it more formal,” said Hudson. “I love denim, being a Southern boy and growing up at the height of urban fashion.”The designer took the gold motifs even further with a metallic gold tuxedo jacket featuring a matching corset, paired with jeans that featured gold hardware along the sides. You may not immediately see it, but even his jeans referenced the shape of a traditional suit trouser. “I have a great pair of tuxedo pants I wear to the club,” he said. “I don’t feel like it's a thing where you can’t wear them outside of formal events.”But it was with his formal evening assortment that his tuxedo work truly shined. “My take on the classic tuxedo was in the fabrication,” he said. “Sometimes tuxedo fabric is very stark and stiff, so I used a triacetate for most of the fabrics; It stretches and is very comfortable.”Some of his black tuxedo jackets also featured white satin lapels, while a standout piece was the white double-breasted coat dress with a sexy high slit. His closing look—a corseted bodice ball gown with a full skirt—was made entirely out of tuxedo satin. Turns out, it was a return to his design roots. “When I was living in South Carolina, I was doing a lot of custom designs, and I would always make these ball gowns,” he said. “I was like, ‘Let’s just go for it.’”
22 July 2024
Stealth wealth. Mob wives-chic. Rich mom energy. These are already some of the buzzwords of 2024 being used to describe anything remotely luxurious in feel—be it a big faux fur coat or a chunky cashmere sweater. But for his refined fall assortment, designer Sergio Hudson skipped the gimmicky catchphrases and focused on a wearable collection of separates, coats, and suits that were meant to feelexpensive—just not trendy. “I really wanted to beef up the ready-to-wear, and make it more luxurious,” he said.If Hudson’s new lineup were to have a TikTok-approved label, however, it would be some sort of term like “Rich Bitch”—clothes for powerful women who invest in sharp pieces and don’t feel timid about rocking them. There was a sense of power and confidence in his sleek cuts this season. A pinstriped, double-breasted jumpsuit could command any boardroom; ditto his long-sleeved camel dress with a pleated hemline, punctuated with a big leather waist corset. The clothes were classic, but had a subtle fierceness to them. Take the denim trench coat with a built-in leather bralette, which struck the right notes of day and night.Hudson’s more evening-ready looks, meanwhile, nodded to Studio 54 and the 1970s—a recurring motif for this designer. His golden long-sleeved gown, with a high slit and keyhole cutout, called back to the glamorous style icons of the era like Bianca Jagger. But even his more demure pieces, like a simple brown ruched jersey dress, clung to all the right places. Hudson said that brown felt fresh for him this fall—even for his party wear. “In the ’70s, you’d watchCharlie’s AngelsandWonder Woman, and the women wore all of these shades of brown,” he said. “I was excited by that.”Hudson’s suiting, however, was the real star of the show tonight (it almost always is). There were sharp houndstooth blazers; cream cashmere double-breasted coats with swishy hemlines; navy velvet two-piece suits; and a cinched leather jacket with a leather skirt to match, both in cherry red. Hudson said it best for who he envisions commanding a room in all of these executive looks: “I love a bossed up woman, and what’s better than a woman in a suit?” Actor Danai Gurira in Hudson’s tangerine two-piece in the front row was concrete proof of that.
12 February 2024
Just a little over a month after showing his fall 2023 collection in September during New York Fashion Week, Sergio Hudson presented 14 looks for a spring 2024 capsule collection. Hudson, who has been operating on a see-now, buy-now schedule for the past few seasons, is returning to the traditional calendar. “I just feel like when we came out of COVID everyone had this fresh idea that we were going to be see-now, buy-now,” Hudson said of the change. “I stepped out there and did it, but I feel like I was kind of out there by myself.... Doing this capsule collection was our way to get back on track.”As a result of the tight timeline, Hudson was designing his 1970s-inspired fall collection at the same time as his spring capsule, which has an ascetic color palette of white, camel, and champagne, with one leopard outlier. That’s not Hudson’s typical M.O. “Fall was so heavy and dark, I wanted a palate cleanser,” he said. “I’ve given them all the colors they need for the moment, so I thought, maybe they need some neutrals from us. But aside from that, it’s a fairly standard encapsulation of Hudson’s ethos. He was thinking about his client, who summers in the Hamptons or Martha’s Vineyard but is still taking meetings and working during the week. She would need lightweight suiting, like a three-piece set in white denim; a tailored knee-length sleeveless light brown dress; flared and wide-leg trousers; and blazers. For weekend parties: an Italian cotton eyelet full skirt and matching top, or a bias-cut slip dress. Jury’s out on whether this powerful woman would wear the white hot-pants, but on the runway they serves as a reminder that this was a fashion show, after all.
23 October 2023
When Sergio Hudson started designing his latest lineup—dubbed Collection 12—he first sketched billowy chiffon dresses with blouson sleeves, sheer bodices, and pleated skirts. He was feeling inspired by the ’70s, and imagined Lynda Carter wearing them in the decade with boots. These dresses are wearable, chic, and, according to Hudson, “give you body, but they’re comfortable.” That was what Hudson found his clientele—a starry roster that includes Michelle Obama, Keke Palmer, and Blake Lively—was really craving.The chiffon numbers were a departure from Hudson’s usual body-conscious dresses and razor-sharp tailoring (he makes areallygood jacket). The masculine vests and ties in the beginning of the show also felt like both a new silhouette for Hudson and a tie into the ’70s inspiration—a dash of Le Smoking. The palette couldn’t have been more different from last season’s neon extravaganza; it was filled with jewel tones, hunter green, chocolate brown, and black.However, even with all this newness, Hudson played to his strengths. He never loses sight of what his customer wants from him. “I know what they’re looking for in clothes,” he said. “Easier pieces, but not pieces that look like you would wear them around the house.” What does ease look like for these successful, stylish women? Formfitting sequined midiskirts with coordinating long-sleeve tops, wide-leg trousers with leather bustiers and jackets, perhaps a three-piece suit. While this collection would never be described as casual, it wasn’t truly formal either. Of course, there were plenty of shoulder pads and power suits. “You’ll never lose that from me, but I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see some of the new things that we’re doing,” Hudson said. Why mess with success?
10 September 2023
Designer Sergio Hudson was going through a rough time a few years ago. “I had an old ratty showroom in LA. It wasliterallyratty,” Hudson said, pushing out a hearty chuckle. He found himself facing large, daunting choices personally and professionally, including the direction in which he should take his namesake brand. At the time, Hudson would sit in his showroom, gaze out the window, and watch a stranger paint a kaleidoscopic mural on the building directly across from him. The resulting piece turned out to be a motivational message that struck Hudson at the core:Believe you got this. “I remember breaking down in tears. It touched me.”That empowering mural—which Hudson later discovered was created by the award-winning artist Jason Naylor—never left Hudson’s mind. When he sat down to design this collection, he decided to send the artist a direct message through Instagram and request a collaboration. “I was like, I don’t even know if he’s gonna reply to me,” Hudson said. Happily, Naylor did. The two worked on graffiti-inspired typography that’s featured on a tee (a Sergio Hudson first). But Naylor’s ecstatic use of neons and gradients, much like paint, seems to have tipped over and tinged every part of this lineup.“It’s the same, but different,” Hudson said of his direction, which he explained is a conscious attempt to attract younger customers. The designer shared details a few hours before the start of his runway show, and he was a vision of youthful trends, with his nails painted smiley-face yellow and neon-green tennis shoes on. “I feel like younger girls are inspiring me right now,” he said. “Like my oldest step-daughter or my niece. Even just girls you see on Instagram and they’re wearing these beautiful vintage clothes. It speaks to me. And I wanted to speak back to them.”Hudson’s message to his new inspirations was loud and clear. A cadre of models in highlighter-hued tweed suits, exposed leather underwear, dresses with corset tailoring, and cinched pencil skirts walked down the runway, and apositive, buoyant spirit filled the air as early ’90s dance hits, including Cece Peniston’s anthemic “Finally,” blared out. Hudson achieved international fame for designing the outfit Michelle Obama wore to Joe Biden’s inauguration. These clothes feel like they’re made with Malia and Sasha Obama and it-girls of similar ilk in mind.
11 February 2023
“For lack of a better term, I was feeling like giving it to the people,” Sergio Hudson said of his latest collection, which the Beyoncé- and Michelle Obama–approved designer showcased in the heart of Wall Street on Saturday night. His main point of inspiration: a YouTube video of Prince performing a sound check at the 1991 Special Olympics. Hudson found himself mesmerized by the music icon’s chutzpah, the way he strutted across the stage full of confidence and self-assurance. Noting the post-Roelandscape, Hudson asked himself: What would a woman look like if she felt as empowered as Prince was in that clip? “It’s probably one of the first times that I haven’t been inspired by a woman for a collection,” he said.This Prince-inspired spirit of funkified sex and glamour certainly showed up in the clothes. There were crayon-colored slip dresses; leopard-print coats; cinched, Pan Am–era skirts; big hair and even bigger shoulder pads; and few, if any, bras. There was a lot of flesh on display—with fabrics occasionally slipping an inch or two and revealing the ever-controversial (and often banned) nipple. Whenever this happened, the models kept on strutting, heads held high. It all felt very rock and roll.The beauty of Hudson’s work is how wide-ranging his muses and customers are. In the audience sat comedian and talk-show host Sherri Shepherd (in a stunning jewel-toned yellow number),Real Housewivesstars Dorinda Medley and Ashley Darby, and rapper Latto. There was plenty of diversity on the runway too. Veronica Webb, Sessilee Lopez, and Chanel Iman made appearances. Hudson touched on how important and affirming the castings were to the women, saying, “When Chanel came to the fitting, she was like, ‘You know, I’m not as small as I used to be.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s why I booked you.’”The collection—which is called simply Collection 10, as Hudson recently decided to go seasonless—also featured a shift away from the monochromatic dressing for which he is known and an embrace of bold color-blocking. There were looks that combined poppy, neon-hued pink, green, and blue while retaining the designer’s trademark classicism and throwback glamour.At the end of the day, this collection is about uplifting the Sergio Hudson woman. “Because I serve women,” Hudson said. “That’s what I live to do. And they’re the most powerful creatures on Earth. Without them there wouldbeno Earth.”
10 September 2022
What would Whitley Gilbert fromA Different WorldorClueless’s Cher Horowitz wear on safari? Well, they’d be characteristically overdressed, if you ask Sergio Hudson. Cher and Whitley would not relinquish their well-accessorized and color-coordinated ensembles for their adventure. Rather, they would get decked out in a leopard matching set or a belted, kelly green suit with a hat larger than the outfit’s mini skirt. “I grew up in the ’90s, and you’d watch these girls who were obsessed with fashion and just dress up for no reason,” he said backstage before the show. “That was what I was thinking about this collection.”But it wasn’t just the inspiration that was borrowed from the ’90s. Hudson staged his show on a raised runway, cast Beverly Johnson and Gisele Zelauy, and sent some of the models down the catwalk in pairs, trios, or quartets. It’s no secret that plenty of showgoers long for the days of Gianni Versace’s or Karl Lagerfeld’s exuberant runways, so the crowd responded to the twirling models (and, obviously, the cameos from fashion legends) with applause.Plus, the color palette didn’t set the tone for a quiet show. Sherbet shades of peach, lavender, seafoam, and bubblegum sailed down the stage, energizing the silhouettes. Hudson is known for his tailoring, and he showed off his prowess in this area with mini skirt suits, trenches—belted, of course—and double-breasted bustiers. But Hudson was conscious this season to show off what else he could do. Knit dresses featured prominently in the collection, as did the more eye-catching eveningwear, a series of bright slip dresses. A corseted peach strapless top and coordinating silky skirt felt like the biggest departure for Hudson, and it was fun to watch him try something new.
13 February 2022
Sergio Hudson’s spring outing began with percussion—and a contradiction. In a spirited surprise, the show started with an appearance from Sheila E., who sang her signature hit “The Glamorous Life” while delivering a drum solo. The Prince-penned tune is about a woman who rejects ’80s materialism in favor of romance, ditching her long mink coat and Mercedes sedan in the process. Priority shifts make for great music, but Hudson’s girl would hang on to that fur. The designer’s appreciation for luxury was at the core of his collection, and he offered a splashy, exuberant take on the concept.The impact of American sportswear’s deities was evident on Hudson’s runway. Those who lived through Tom Ford’s tenure at Gucci may have experienced a moment of déjà vu upon seeing a tailored all-white look capped off with a fuzzy fur. Influence isn’t a bad thing. It can speak to good taste or the ubiquity of a visual. Back in 2004, the same folks would have had recollections of Halston while viewing Ford’s runway. As it’s almost mandatory for young designers to reference the mid-’70s or early aughts these days, the nostalgia seemed appropriate. Combining both eras allowed Hudson to cherry-pick the best elements and rework them into pieces representing his perspective. The jewel-tone jumpsuits and asymmetrical gowns on glamazons like Veronica Webb and Arlenis Sosa were slinky, sexy, and pure Hudson.The party looks were great, but boardroom-ready suits and bright separates comprised the bulk of the collection. One could easily picture Hudson enthusiast Michelle Obama standing at a podium in his double-breasted blazer or throwing on his leather jumpsuit off-duty.
10 September 2021