Wait, because why is Sir Paul Smith low-key a pop culture icon? You might know the British designer for his colourful stripes, prints and good quality basics, but you don’t even know half of this man’s lore.
Through the years he’s collabed with the likes of David Bowie (he’s designed an anniversary edition Space Oddity album cover among many other projects with the artist), Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Oakley, Reebok, Alhuwalia and Manchester United, and has created insane pieces, such as his cult Afghan rug jacket from the ‘90s, and a shirt with a spaghetti print. Oh, and Linda Evangelista walked his FW91 show.
But, let’s start from the beginning. Back in 1970 Paul opened up his first shop in Nottingham, a concept store (one of the first of this kind) where he sold pieces by Kenzo and Margaret Howell, as well as records, prints, and objects he found interesting.
By the mid-’70s, Paul started driving down to London on weekends to sell his screen-printed T-shirts outside big nightclubs. And fun fact: in 1976 Paul presented his collection in a hotel room, where he laid out his pieces on a bed. The next year, he hosted his first runway show in a friend’s apartment, where Paul made his own mixtape for the runway soundtrack.
In the ‘80s and ‘90s Paul pioneered the use of photographic print on clothing, which has come to be a brand signature: in his career he’s created shirts with seed packets on them, apple prints, spaghetti prints, as well as his staple florals
Around the same time, he also developed his now-cult colourful tweeds, which were not really a thing back in the day. In 1997, he introduced his Signature Stripes, which have remained in the brand’s core legacy.
Sir Paul Smith got knighted in 2000, he’s had a Design Museum exhibition dedicated to his career, his Union Jack dress was the main character on the cover of British Vogue, and today, almost 55 years after he opened his shop in Nottingham, he has 130 flagship stores around the world.
And that’s just a glimpse of the man behind the brand.
Featured images Paul Smith©
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