Sergio Hudson’s Los Angeles Fashion Week presentation of his resort 2025 collection was filled with moments of gratitude and striking designs. On the final evening of LAFW, the designer chose to host an intimate dinner party to showcase his collection and celebrate integral supporters of the brand.
To set the scene: two rows of tables filled a gold-hued dining room. Deep red floral arrangements adorned the tables and light fixtures as Anita Baker played in the background. After a brief cocktail hour, special guests of the brand took to their seats and the night began.
Hudson opened by sharing a few words with his room of valuable supporters including guests such as Ms. Tina Knowles, titan Beverly Johnson, the beloved actress Tracee Ellis Ross, Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, award-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter, stylist extraordinaire Zerina Akers, and Garcelle Beauvais, just to name a few.
He expressed such heartfelt words for his business partner Inga Beckham, his husband, and the whole room for championing the designer label and supporting its existence in the luxury fashion market, “I want to show that a brand that is minority-owned, Black-owned, and female-owned can do it like the big brands do.”
Hudson expressed how fashion is such a driving force in culture that he feels people sleep on. He noted that as stewards of so much culture, he wants to ensure that Black people gain more access. He turns the room’s attention to the collection as models, styled in sleek ponytails and deep smokey eye looks enter the room, utilizing the aisle between tables as the runway.
The 2025 resort collection, inspired by a tuxedo dress, consists of black, white, gold, and denim ensembles. The denim pieces are a playful nod to the Canadian tuxedo, while many of the black and white garments offer various renditions of the classic tuxedo designs. Guests did not hesitate to convey their delight as the designs filled the room. A black evening gown with a delicate boning-lined bodice, polished suits impeccably tailored for a feminine silhouette, and two floor-length gowns likening glamorous perfume bottles with a corset-like finishing were a few standouts.
“My favorite part of the design process is coming up with inspiration. I love women, so my inspiration is always a woman for the season,” Hudson shares with ESSENCE. Inspirations for this particular line include the Vaudeville era, Sammy Davis Jr., Josephine Baker, Diahann Carroll’s Dominique Deveraux, and the 1982 film Victor/Victoria.
The designer goes on to explain the intentions behind presenting the collection in this way, and the throughline comes down to, again, gratitude. He wanted to not only celebrate his fervent supporters but also share the world he’s crafting for the brand and where he sees it will grow. His decision to showcase this collection at LA Fashion Week is quite simple: “I’m an Angeleno. As much as I’m in New York, I love to be in LA.”
The South Carolina native felt it only right to present the resort line to his Los Angeles market which is one of his largest. Opposed to fashion weeks such as New York which he describes as large-scale productions, LA allowed the designer to present at a more intimate level and dip into the Hollywood glamour of it all.
“I don’t think everywhere has to be a fashion capital, but LA is a market that everybody plays to, because people come here to shop.” He then describes how LAFW is carving its own lane in the global fashion conversation.
Hudson’s sentiments about LAFW overlap with other designers that ESSENCE spoke to that week, which points to the level of support they are all receiving, something that N4XT Founders set out to ensure. Co-founders Ciarra Pardo and Keith Abell were also in attendance to support the brand, exchanging words with fellow guests about the vision and purpose of LAFW.
Pardo explains that after acquiring the fashion week in 2021, she, Abell, and their co-founder Imad Izemrane set out to fully reimagine it. “We brought beauty, sustainability, and technology up to the forefront alongside fashion, and we took the approach of celebrating what Los Angeles has to offer instead of trying to emulate other fashion weeks,” Pardo tells ESSENCE.
She adds that their approach and flexibility which supports designers is key. Pardo notes that this way of creating a slate of programming encourages designers to think outside the box–sometimes that’s stepping away from doing a traditional runway show. The co-founder expresses that beauty brands and other strategic partners are another notable method of bringing designers and their creations to the LA audience.
The dinner presentation concluded with final thoughts from Hudson and Beckham, sharing how the brand and their partnership came to be. Hudson is, as Beckham describes him, “a genius of fashion. He studies, he knows his art.” Upon meeting, she knew their partnership would be fated, and in deep sincerity expressed how appreciative they are of the support that has carried them through.
With artful craftsmanship, genuine support systems, and a whole lot of glamor, Sergio Hudson is cementing itself as a luxury brand that will stand the test of time.