Julez Smith, the 19-year-old son of Solange Knowles, made his Met Gala debut on Monday evening (May 6) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Dressed in a black Luar ensemble, Julez stole the spotlight as he was joined by designer Raul Lopez.
This wasn’t Julez’s first foray into the fashion spotlight. Just months prior, he stole the show at New York Fashion Week, where his family cheered him on at the Luar fashion show in Brooklyn. With Beyoncé, Solange, and Tina Knowles in attendance, it was a true family affair, celebrating Julez’s runway debut.
After New York, Julez continued to make waves internationally, strutting his stuff on the runways of Milan Fashion Week for Versace. Reflecting on his whirlwind journey, he expressed gratitude for the incredible opportunities.
“It was a very fast turnaround from Luar to Versace,” Julez recently told me HighSnobiety “But it was amazing. Everybody that I met on the way has been great. Every experience has been pretty good.”
Smith’s passion for fashion runs deep within his family. Growing up surrounded by style icons like his grandmother Tina Knowles, mother Solange, and aunt Beyonce, Julez has had a keen eye for fashion from a young age.
“Everybody in my family has been stylish since I can remember,” Julez said proudly. “I was super young when [Destiny’s Child] happened, but I know my family’s history in fashion. I remember being around my mom, going to her photo shoots, and even going to fashion shows as a kid.”
But Julez isn’t just about fashion. He also enjoys music production, though he sees it more as a creative outlet than a career.
“I took music class in school, and I think many people thought that I was producing for real, but a lot of it was just learning music and production. Of course, I love music, growing up in a music family. But it never was like, ‘Oh, I want to be a producer.’ It was more like, ‘Okay, let me learn something new. Let me learn this craft.'”
