Paul Smith was not born to be a designer, in fact far from it. His true passion was sport, cycling specifically until when aged 17 he was in a terrible accident which left him hospitalised. It was during his 6 months in hospital that he became friends with some students at a popular art college in Nottingham. Instantly Paul knew he wanted to be part of this world.
Within two years Paul was managing his first boutique in Nottingham and following that opened his own shop in 1970. He then began taking evening classes in tailoring and with the help of his wife began creating his own clothes.
By 1976 he was at a stage where he could show his first menswear collection. This took place in Paris under the “Paul Smith” label.
Paul Smith has now been in the fashion industry for over 40 years and is truly established as one of the most influential British designers of all time. Today there are 14 different brands under the Paul Smith umbrella, all of these are designed in London and Nottingham and primarily produced in England and Italy.
The Paul Smith stores mirror the personality of their owner with their unmistakable English character. Each store is totally different in a showcase of diverse and eccentric objects designed to compliment the collection.
See the Paul Smith S/S’15 collection here.