The Patron Of Print, Paul Smith, On All Things British!

The Paul Smith label is synonymous with English tailoring. You started working at the age of 16. What sparked your interest in fashion at such a young age?

I sort of fell into fashion really. After a bad accident ended my dreams of becoming a professional cyclist, I met some local art students whilst in hospital, and got introduced to this whole world of creativity. We’d go to the pub and I’d hear about the Bauhaus and all these creative things for the first time. It’s through those people that I had my first brush with fashion. Nothing was ever really planned. To be honest I just wanted to earn a living in a world of creativity. I worked as a shop assistant and then opened my own small shop, but only two days a week at first. It was a slow progression but always self-financed and I'm very proud that we're still an independent company now.

Paul Smith, SS18, Backstage

One can see references to cycling in your clothes as well as your stores. When did your association with cycling start?

My love of cycling really started when I was a teenager. I took it really seriously and as a kid I idolized some of the cycling greats. The ones that leap to mind are the likes of Fausto Coppi and Jacques Anquetil. Anquetil was amazingly stylish as well as being an incredible sportsman! Still to this day cycling for me is all about the freedom of the open-road. The feeling of the wind in your face, the sound of the tires on tarmac, breaks screeching as you coast down a hill. I started cycling when I was 11, and I was racing by the time I was 12. I’ve always loved the sense of freedom. In a city like London, you don't often have a feeling of space but being out on your bike certainly helps!

You witnessed London through the ‘70s. Can you describe the sartorial scene at that time? Has it influenced your design aesthetic?

It was a wonderful and very free-spirited time. People were very creative and confident in the way that they expressed themselves through music, art, fashion and more. Individuality was so important then and individuality remains at the centre of Paul Smith today. It’s the eclectic mix of high culture and low culture, rough and smooth that makes us so different and that is very much inspired by that time.

At a time when suits were considered serious work wear, you took a risk and reinvented classical cuts with splashes of colour and incorporated playful prints and stripes. What prompted you to do so?

When I first started out, I was trained by a ceremonial tailor who made uniforms for soldiers for ceremonial occasions. He taught me about how suppression in the waist could make you stand straighter, how a broader shoulder gave more strength to the silhouette and so much more. I also learnt about the benefits using of different types of cloth for different purposes. Once I learnt all these rules I was able to experiment with breaking them and looking at ways to differentiate Paul Smith from the competition. I always say “nobody needs another fashion designer” so how are you going to stand out from the crowd and offer something different? For me it was a printed lining inside a classic suit jacket or the bright colour of the stitching on a shirt button hole.

Paul Smith, SS18

As a designer, you display a unique ability to anticipate trends in fashion and your collections usually have an undertone of the contemporary times and culture. Your thoughts?

That’s my job! I always encourage my team to be aware of what is going on in the world of design but never follow or imitate.

You visited Japan in 1981. What did you love about the country and what takes you back to the country time and again? How have those trips shaped your collections?

When I first went I was flying on my own, eighteen hours via Anchorage, economy class. You’d go for two weeks and you’d get really tired and hardly anyone spoke English. I’ve been there over a hundred times throughout my career and it’s that constant involvement that’s made the business so successful there. The Japanese attention to detail is certainly something that’s inspired so much of what I do from designing clothes to running shops!

What do you think is the one thing that contributed to the success of Paul Smith the brand?

My wife Pauline. She is a constant source of inspiration. Initially, she inspired me because she was trained as a designer at the Royal College of Art and had a very particular understanding of the construction of clothes which she passed onto me. She continues to inspire me because she's always kept her feet on the ground and she's very calm.

Fashion has witnessed a boom in the last decade. How do you maintain a sense of freedom in your creative process while catering to a fast-paced market?

The fishpond is a lot more crowded than it used to me. By that I mean that there are a lot of brands and designers now trying to fish from the same pond of customers. As such the pace has changed a lot! I always say that fashion is about today and tomorrow. And by that I mean nobody cares how good you used to be. You have to always be looking forward and innovating. The second you take your foot off the pedal, someone will over-take you.

Your Spring/Summer ’18 collection was titled ‘Octopus’s Garden’ after The Beatles song. Can you speak a little about the collection and how is the song related to it?

The collection had a very aquatic theme with many of the prints featuring hand-drawn fish and ocean life and so it seems like a natural choice!

Paul Smith, SS18

Lastly, can you tell us a little about your wardrobe?

I wear a suit more-or-less everyday. When people ask me for one wardrobe tip I often say - you can’t go far wrong with a good navy blue suit that can be worn more formally with a shirt and tie, or dressed down with a T-shirt and pair of trainers. Oh and it should be from Paul Smith, of course!

What is your fashion quirk?

Colourful socks.

 All Images: Courtesy Paul Smith