London Fashion Week

Paul Smith, Spring/Summer '08 (scroll down to read the review)
Paul Smith
Everyone likes Paul Smith. There’s little or nothing not to like. He has built a global fashion brand (still privately owned) bringing in revenues of £300m without over-exposing himself in over-priced undies. And he’s a nice chap. But as Smith sent out what felt like a very familiar, reassuring somehow, mix of early doors Hockney and gentlemanly sports styling – there were cable knit sweater dresses, candy coloured blazers, tailored shorts, kagols in what looked like what we used to call ‘parachute silk’ though was probably satin, Capri pants, white tuxedoes and of course, stripes, boating jacket stripes and rugby shirt stripes - you had to wonder why Smith shows his womenswear in London.

If London Fashion Week has a purpose it is to show off the capital as laboratory, a centre for experimentation, youthful risk taking rather than establishment laps of honour. Smith’s catwalk presentation is the latter. One suspects it also is a show of support for the domestic industry as much as a commercial exercise (though his womenswear line is doing more than nicely and the buyers need to see it somehow, somewhere) and those in attendance are here to pay respects where respects are due. It might be time for Smith to think about other ways to make his support and presence felt during what is still, after all these years, a fragile fixture in the international fashion calendar.

The thing is, Smith really is incredibly smart and sharp, a hugely successful showman, retailer and entrepeneur. And there might be other ways of getting the best out of him.

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