Henry A. Smith
Henry Alfonsa Smith
joined the SoHarlem Collective in 2019 and began incubating TheManHenry House of Tailoring enterprise. To date–200 individuals have taken his sewing and tailoring classes.
Henry brings more than 30 years of professional tailoring experiences in the fashion industry. He worked at Gilberto Designs, the house of custom style and old-world craftsmanship in New York. A sampling of some of the productions he worked on while on Gilberto Designs The Iceman Cometh (starring Denzel Washington), Kinky Boots, Hello Dolly, and Motown.
Born and raised in Harlem, Henry earned a Bachelor of Arts from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and certification in Ladies and Men Tailoring. He also worked at FIT’s Apparel Production Department as the sewing machine technician responsible for advanced technology, which included computerized fabric spreading, cutting, serging and sewing machines.
He is a protégé the late Marion William Anderson, Sr, the Harlem garment industry icon and educator who established the Manhattanville Needle Trade School on West 141st Street, where he made suits for Harlem’s elite. As a fifteen-year-old high school student, Henry studied with Anderson, eventually becoming his assistant. Smith helped Anderson run the Trade School and the two remained close friends until Anderson’s death in 2015.
Henry is the Principal Trainer for SoHarlem’s Creative Economy Institute, Henry keeps Anderson’s legacy alive by sharing with trainees and apprentices the skills and lessons Anderson instilled: If you can sew, you can eat.