This top British designer may not be well known in the US (only 2% of total sales are made in North America), but he is no newbie to the fashion scene. His global fashion house is in their 33rd year of success and has no plans on slowing down. He has 12 different collections in 35 different countries. He started out in menswear but has grown his brand to include kids, women, accessories, watches, pens, furniture, fragrance, and more! So, how did this British fashion icon become so, well, iconic? Read on my friends.
This dashing man came into the business by fate. As a teenager, he wanted to become a professional athlete and take on the world of cycling. Unfortunately, a major accident put the breaks on that career path and after spending 6 months in a hospital bed and making some new friends, Paul stepped out for a night on the town and an unexpected new career. He was introduced to the local art students and became enthralled with the idea of living his life encircled by creativity. He had the support of his then girlfriend and now wife, Pauline Deyner, who was studying fashion design at the time, to take his little bit of savings and open up his own boutique in 1970. Sir Smith started taking evening design classes and showed his first menswear collection 6 years later. Obviously, it was a success! That first boutique has grown into over 100 company owned stores and over 150 franchise stores in Asia.
This man must just sit back and watch the money roll in, right? Nope! Paul is still completely involved in almost every aspect of his business. He is still the CEO and Chief Designer and often makes time to stop into his stores and visit with employees. He is even fully involved with his franchise businesses in Asia, designing the clothes to be sold, choosing fabrics to be used, and approving shop locations. It’s amazing the close connectivity he keeps with such a global empire.
He is known for taking the classic men’s tailored look and kicking it up a notch with colors, fabrics, and cuts. He could take your average American male and make him look like that sophisticated, yet daring, British bloke you dream about. His current collection is full of pin striped suits, shown on the runway with rolled up pants (LOVE it!), colorful ties and belts, and light colored button downs. He also showed a more casual look with jeans, again rolled up, with loose fitting button downs and cardigan sweaters and tailored jackets. His Paul Smith Jeans collection is showing the colored jeans look for men and I love it. Women have been donning the colored jeans look for a couple seasons now, and Paul Smith proves men can pull it off just as well. Hopefully, the look takes off here – we just need to find some daring American men who aren’t afraid to stand out! We know at least one – the WW reader who requested this article!
Ladies, don’t feel left out. His women’s collection is just as impressive, full of his staple tailored jackets and button downs, plus sexy draped dresses and jumpers. If you’re looking for something new that not every other fashionista is wearing, this is your answer.
Unfortunately for us, he only has 3 shops in the US. But he can also be found at Neiman Marcus Flagship in Dallas, TX, Barney’s, Bergdorf’s, and Saks in New York, and Fred Segal in Santa Monica, CA. Luckily you can also shop online at www.paulsmith.co.uk. Oh yeah, almost everything online is on sale right now. Think 50% off type of sale. Paul Smith doesn’t mess around and it’s about time American’s take notice.
Written By: Heather Kilpatrick
