It takes LaQuan Smith more than an hour to get to the Garment District in order to source his fabrics. And it took us even longer to arrive at his home/design studio in Jamaica, Queens. But it was well worth the journey. Smith took us on a tour of his most favorite, most personal possessions (including some megahigh heels). Luckily you get to skip the subway trip and still come along for the ride.

This is a picture of Marc Jacobs and his models. I always pictured myself in his place, and I had it on my wall for a long time.

This is my Juki. After The Times ran an article on me, this woman, Peggy Cooper Cafritz, called me up and asked how she could help me out. She found out I sew everything on a dinky machine and bought me this industrial-strength machine. She didn’t know me from a can of paint, and she helped me. She wants to do for her people, and I want to be just like her. I want to help.

I was in a magazine store on 19th and Park when I saw this woman who looked like Courtney Love. So I asked her if her name was Courtney. She peered at me over her sunglasses and asked who I was. I explained that I was LaQuan. And she said that she just had lunch with André [Leon Talley], and he was telling her about me. So she invites me to her house and lets me dig through piles of fabric and vintage clothing and take what I want. That’s where I got this silver velvet. I took some lace, too, and she said, “Baby, this is $365 a yard. You’d better make something amazing.”

My spring collection is inspired by Paris and Cruella de Vil. So I’m going to use this fur trim I bought in the Garment District — it reminds me of poodles. I call it deadpan marabou.

I’ve become fascinated with hats. Kelly (my publicist) gave me this Italian book on hats, Il Cappello da Donna. Traveling to Paris inspired me, too.  So, I bought this one at Buffalo Exchange for $15. We’ll see what happens for spring.

When I worked at BlackBook, I swapped for these Gallianos with a friend who worked at W. They’re from my party-crashing days. NYC streets are never good for your fabulous shoes. These took me a long way, though. They started a lot of conversations when I was trying to break into fashion. I got the hang of walking in them quickly; I just put them on and went. I remember wearing these during Fashion’s Night Out. NYC was live. But at the end of the night, my ankles were on fire.

This is the hand from my mannequin, Ivanka. I used to work at Express, and I begged my manager to let me have one of the mannequins. He gave me a bunch.

And this is my and Ivanka’s jewelry — our Sasha Fierce rings. One I bought on Saint Marks, and the other was a gift from a friend. They’re part of my alter ego.

I got this ring in high school, and I was the man.

I always dreamed of being in Vogue. I graduated from high school in 2006, and everything happened so fast: André Leon Talley comes to my first show, and the next month, I’m in Vogue. In the article, he mentions my grandma — that she taught me to sew — which meant a lot to me. Because my grandma is in her 60s and makes custom church robes and is into arts and crafts. But she thought me being a designer was unrealistic; it was this whole big trauma. But after the show and Vogue, she finally thought, This is something bigger than LaQuan. It validated what I do.