Mood board: 'This is really about echoing what I was doing when I first started,' Paul Smith said of his latest men’s collection. Smith opened his first shop in Nottingham in 1970 hence the layering of embroidery, pattern on pattern and denim. Presented in the glorious circular hall of the Bourse de Commerce, the clothes (jeans embellished with paisley, precise reversible shearlings and breezy flared trousers) were seventies-ish but felt totally modern.
Best in show: The look was designed around a layered wardrobe. Cashmere was worn with Liberty print, underneath shearling and with denim. The season ushers in three new trouser shapes too: a fuller leg with front pleat, a skinny fit and the standout slim flare.
Sound bite: 'I suppose it’s to do with the mix of things,' Smith said of the collection backstage. 'This season echoes what I used to wear and how I used to dress. And then world went very monochrome, very minimal, very black and white at some point. All black, navy, navy and black, all black; it still astounds me how may people enjoy black so much. It probably takes more effort to wear colour; but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing!'
INFORMATION
Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
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