Sir Paul Smith (born 5 July 1946) is a British fashion designer. His reputation is founded on his designs for men's clothing, but his business has expanded into other areas too. Smith was made a Royal Designer for Industry in 1991, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2000.
The British fashion company was founded in 1970 by Paul Smith, and has expanded into over 70 countries, selling its products via standalone stores, departments in high-end stores or malls, along with airport terminals, as well as the e-commerce section of its international website.
Video Paul Smith (fashion designer)
History
Born in 1946 in Nottingham, England. Paul Smith's ambition was to become a professional cyclist. He left school at the age of 15 to work in a Nottingham clothing warehouse while practicing cycling outside of work hours. He cycled to and from work, until the age of 17 where he was in a major cycling accident that put him in the hospital for close to six months. During his recovery, friends inspired him to the world of art and fashion. In fact cycling is often referenced to in his work over the years. From this point he started to take classes in tailoring and eventually worked with a Savile Row tailor, Lincroft Kilgour.
Paul Smith opened his very own shop called Paul Smith "Vêtement Pour Homme" in Nottingham in 1970, which sold established clothing labels, alongside pieces that Paul Smith had designed himself. The store was just 3 square meters and was located at 6 Byard Lane in Nottingham. In 1976 Paul traveled to Paris to showcase his first men's collection. This featured a mix of casual and semi-formal wear. After that Paul Smith's brand continued to grow and he opened his flagship London store in 1979 on Floral Street in Covent Garden, London. In the 1980s Paul Smith opened more stores around the globe and expanded his range of clothing over the following decades to incorporate both a children's collection and also launched a womenswear line as Paul Smith's menswear range continued to grow. The womenswear collection was launched in 1993, when Paul took over a clothing company called R. Newbold (established in 1885) and incorporated many of their designs into his new collection. His company continues to be an independent company, which Paul Smith owns a majority of to date.
Maps Paul Smith (fashion designer)
Awards
Paul Smith has won numerous awards over the years, including:
- In 1994, he was awarded a CBE for his services to fashion.
- Honorary Freedom of the City of Nottingham, February 1997.
- Paul Smith was awarded a knighthood for his work in the fashion industry, 2000.
- Won Designer of the Year four years in a row at the GQMen of the Year awards.
- Along with Anya Hindmarch, Paul Smith was awarded the Condé Nast Traveller Innovation and Design Awards, in 2010.
- Outstanding Achievement Award, British Fashion Awards 2011.
- Paul Smith was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from the British Institute of Interior Design.
- He was named one of GQ's 50 best dressed British men in 2015.
Partnerships and other business pursuits
Paul Smith has been involved in multiple collaborations and partnerships over the years, including:
2002
Smith worked with Italian furniture designer Cappellini to create a small homeware collection.
2003
Paul Smith's first collaboration with Maharam, the US textile brand, originally used in one of his suit designs, the two continue to work together on new ranges.
2005
Paul Smith teamed up with motorbike manufacturer Triumph, restyling the Bonneville T100 bike.
Paul Smith redesigned the Lasonic i931 boombox, giving it a white look with Smith's trademark multicolour look.
For the 60th anniversary of Penguin Classics, Paul Smith was asked to choose and redesign one cover, he chose Lady Chatterley's Lover by DH Lawrence.
2006
Paul Smith and Mercian Cycles collaborated on a series of bicycles.
Paul Smith designed the chairs in screen 4 at Broadway Cinema, Nottingham.
2007
Smith began working with the UK based boutique cycle clothing retailer, Rapha. Smith designed a range of cycle clothing in association with Rapha, including a jersey to celebrate the rare start of the Tour de France in London.
2009
Paul Smith was the third designer, following Jean-Paul Gaultier, by redesigning a bottle for Evian water.
Paul Smith provided suits for the Manchester United team.
2010
Paul Smith worked with Burton Snowboards including adding his signature stripe to boards and apparel.
2011
Paul Smith designed four limited edition prints to mark the release of Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy.
2012
Paul Smith joined Leica to design a limited edition Leica X2 camera.
Curated by the Isle of Man Post Office, Paul Smith designed a set of stamps to mark the launch of the London Olympics.
Paul Smith joined boot-maker John Lobb to create a series of Oxford, derby and loafers.
2013
Paul Smith was the official designer of the T-Shirt for the David Bowie album 'The Next Day'.
Paul Smith designed the leaders' jersey for Giro d'Italia including the Maglia Rosa.
2014
Paul Smith started a collaboration with Anglepoise, reimagining their iconic Type 75 lamp as Edition One, he has since gone on to creating multiple editions.
2015
Paul Smith designed a series of T-shirts in collaboration with the release of David Bowies final album ? (Blackstar).
Paul Smith worked with Kask for the first time to design their 'Protone' aero helmet. In 2018 a second helmet was released.
The first collaboration between Paul Smith & Caran d'Ache, launched 10 colours of their '849' pen. They went on to work together again in 2016.
2016
Collaborated with the wine merchant, Berry Bros & Rudd on a limited edition range of bottles.
Paul Smith collaborated with Land Rover, to design a bespoke Defender.
Paul Smith designed a new version of the cactus-shaped coat stand by Italian furniture designers Gufram.
Edition Three of the Paul Smith & Anglepoise Collaboration was launched.
The second collaboration with Caran d'Ache was launched, adding 8 new colours to the collection.
2018
For the 120th anniversary of Globe-Trotter, Paul Smith collaborated with company by redesigning their 20" trolley case, this was first showcased at the Salone del Mobile.
Celebrating 30 years of New Balance's 576 sneaker, Paul Smith redesigned with his iconic stripe design, along with a series of footballs and football boot.
References
Media related to Paul Smith at Wikimedia Commons
Source of article : Wikipedia
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