Cash App is one of the simplest and easiest ways to transfer payments to anyone, like your mom sending you $50 for groceries or your best friend giving back that $15 she borrowed. For designer and 2022 CFDA nominee Laquan Smith, the #1 finance app served as a helpful tool in his early career, and now, he’s sewing together fashion with funds, closer than ever before.
Last fall, the mobile banking app collaborated with Megan Thee Stallion for the three-part Hot Girl Enterprise collection. A year later, LaQuan Smith for Cash by Cash App is the fourth installment to the app’s retail commerce and the first collaboration with a luxury label.
“A large part of Cash App’s brand ethos is around empowering financial independence, creativity, and self-expression,” said Cash App’s Head of Marketing and Brand Catherine Ferdon in a statement. “We have long admired LaQuan’s confident aesthetic, and he is the perfect partner to help us defy consumer expectations and bridge the gap between fashion and finance.”
The capsule collection features four signature pieces, including a bomber jacket, leggings, bodysuit, and catsuit, all designed in black featuring Cash App’s customary green logo patch for its stitching. Inspired by Smith’s old English “LS” logo, the grunge-like batch pays homage to Smith’s NYC roots and his archival silhouettes, aiming to bring a red carpet lifestyle to everyday lives. “We wanted this collection to be a tangible, luxurious representation of our shared values: self-expression, diversity, and inclusion,” Smith tells ESSENCE. “It’s meant to make both fashion and finance more accessible.”
Before Smith became one of the most acclaimed designers today, in 2013, he was just another label building up a name and brand, leaning on Cash App to get paid for his work – now he’s giving back. Through the partnership, proceeds from the collection will donate to Year Up, nonprofit aiding young adults with the resources and support to grant them opportunities for growth within their careers and higher education.
“When I was just starting, Cash App was the simplest, safest, fastest way to get paid for my work – which opened up so much creative space for me to work on my designs,” Smith said. “Launching a business is incredibly hard, and you’re constantly being pulled in so many directions as both a designer and business owner, so having that element streamlined makes a huge difference.
LaQuan Smith for Cash by Cash App is available now to shop online, with prices ranging from $150 to $350. Shoppers utilizing Cash App Pay will receive an additional 25% discount. If you’ve ever wanted to get your hands on a Laquan Smith design, this rare capsule is the best time to open your mobile wallet. Shop the capsule here.
