outdoors, the wind in your face, the sound of your
tires on the road and the camaraderie.” The sense of
being in a team, he says, has helped him build one
of the world ’s most successful fashion houses.
A crash when he was 17 ended any dreams of
cycling progress. Smith was in the hospital for three
months and afterwards he kept in touch with some of
the other patients. One of them chose a pub to meet
in, in Smith’s hometown of Nottingham, England,
and it happened to be where all the art students hung
out. As he puts it, he went from the rigor of riding
350 to 400 miles a week to discussing art, design and
fashion. His life changed forever.
He took a job working with factories as a progress
chaser for garment manufacturers and eventually
saved enough to open a shop in 1970. It was, he
remembers, a windowless room on the second floor
above another shop in Nottingham measuring 10
by 10 feet. There was just enough room for the tall,
skinny Smith and his Afghan hound, Homer. The
dog smelled so bad that his owner sprayed the
place in Dior’s Eau Sauvage.
Today, Paul Smith has a few more stores – some
300 – and sells in 72 countries. He has dressed
the great and the good and, particularly, the
creative. David Hockney, Richard Rogers and
Gary Oldman have all been clients, as have
generations of musicians. David Bowie’s last
album, Blackstar, had a T-shirt designed by Smith
to accompany its release. And last year, REM’s
Michael Stipe collaborated with Smith on a capsule
collection to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the
band ’s album Automatic for the People.
Unusually for a designer of his status, Smith still
works a couple of hours every weekend in one of his
London stores, to keep his hand in. He knows full
well that the secret to his longevity as a designer
resides in his unerring ability to keep his ideas fresh
and in tune with what people are looking for. And
today, it seems, they are looking for ever more casual
and relaxed clothing. “A lot of my clothing – knitsLeft and above:
Paul Smith goes
nautical for his
spring Ocean
collection. Top:
Smith the cyclist
and, top right, the
designer. He has
worked with REM
and David Bowieespecially – has cycling jersey influences, with zip-
fronts and high collars,” he says.
Smith ’s aesthetic has always acknowledged
the role of sportswear in the wardrobe. The outfit
that London’s V& A museum has from him in its
permanent collection is a chalk-striped bright suit
with a white T-shirt and tennis shoes from 30 years
ago. “I’ve always had this way of putting things
together with irreverence, I suppose. Along with
colorful linings and contrasting cuffs on shirts – that
sort of thing – I suppose my handwriting has been in
the way you style unconventional pieces together.”
This approach has marked Smith as one who
knows how to make men and women look interesting,
but not like they are trying too hard. For this spring/
summer, Smith says he has been inspired by the sea.
Called “Ocean,” the collection references Hawaiian
shirts, mixing them with conventional tailoring. “It’s
all about my love of what’s underwater – when you’re
snorkeling, the amazing plants you see, and the
curious fish that come right up to your mask.”
Until recently Smith had a waterfront home in
Sardinia. “I’m very familiar with the Rolex Cup and
the Wally boats and some of the classic boats that
used to come in. My home was 20 meters from sea.
I never owned a boat myself, though. I used to hire a
little goma [rubber boat] to go to Maddalena.” And if
he could design a boat? “It would probably be like a
Riva, one of their more traditional ones.”
Smith swims every morning between 5am and
5.30am, a habit he’s had since 1992. Maybe that’s the
cyclist’s discipline? He does still cycle. “Hardly ever
in London now, but I’m lucky to have a home in Italy,
and when I’m there in the summer I’m out on the
bike every day. Bradley very kindly gave me one of
his old bikes. We’re exactly the same size.”BPHOTOGRAPHY: DAVID TITLOW/LUXX MAGAZINE/NEWS SYNDICATION; GETTY IMAGES