Celebrating fifty years in the fashion business, British designer Paul Smith’s eponymous label has aged gracefully with time. Since establishing a small store in Nottingham, England, in 1970, Smith has swiftly expanded his presence in the luxury fashion circuit, from Paris and New York to India, Tokyo and Australia.
A fashion wizard on the runway, the 74-year old Smith’s strong suit is his dapper menswear, alongside his vivacious collections of womenswear and kidswear. In 2000, he was knighted as a royal designer by Queen Elizabeth II, giving him a status of one of the leading, forward-thinking designers that time.
Paul Smith at his first store in Nottingham / Photo: Paul Smith
This year, the Paul Smith brand marks its 50th year in the fashion business. And on the occasion, he takes his patrons on a riveting journey of his playful yet high-toned dressmaking with a special capsule collection launch.
Smith’s design language has always been a concoction of traditional and modern. His clothes play with humour in the most sophisticated way, speckled with whimsical graphic prints that are as popular with the consumers today as it was during the 80s and the 90s.
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His latest capsule edit takes inspiration from his archival prints, spanning 1988 to 2002 – everything colourful and unconventional. The iconic Spaghetti print remains one his most quirkiest prints till date. It first appeared on the Autumn-Winter 1994 runway, inspired by a fake spaghetti platter that Smith spotted in a store during his trip to Tokyo. Two other artsy motifs of a rose and a shiny green apple make a comeback too.
Spaghetti print
These eye-catching graphic prints decorate a range of casual jerseys, bomber jackets, hoodies and T-shirts for men and women. The capsule also features a formal devoré velvet suit embossed with floral handwork, a shift from the typical casualwear.
Every outfit of the collection has a refreshing, groovy appeal perfect for his and her wardrobes. A separate line of trainers, bags, pouches and small accessories too feature in this collection, adorned with the same illustrative prints for a coordinated look.
The milestone celebration also saw the launch of Paul Smith Foundation in September 2020. It is a digital platform for young designers and creative professionals to access the veteran designer’s personal archive of all the learnings and advice he gained from the industry mentors over the years.
Lastly, the British designer also released a bookPaul Smith that chronicles his journey of fifty years with fifty objects such as his family photographs, runway snippets and other memorabilia and presented in it.
