Paul Smith A/W 2018
Leading the charge for a smarter fashion look, Sir Paul Smith celebrates ‘the enduring relevance of the suit’
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Mood board: In tandem with Lucas Ossendrjiver’s scrutiny of the suit at Lanvin, Sir Paul Smith thought this was the season to consider the future of tailoring. Just what use are suits within fashion’s sportswear vortex? Worn between weddings and webinars, classic smart suits are Smith’s bread and butter. A/W18 strives to remind generation Z of its relevance. The collection opened with a style that had smooth satin lapels rolled into dense pleats, its jacquard wool sleeves woven with dancing fairies.
Best in show: In the 1980s, Smith led the charge for a smarter fashion look counter to the denim and leather attitude of the time. The longer length jackets for the new season nod to his collections from the same period. The formality of suiting is smashed into eccentric textile; a single button jacket in black wool ruched on one side and worn with fluid wide leg trousers. Mismatched jacquards are patchworked; houndstooth panelled alongside Prince of Wales check.
Sound bite: ‘I’m very lucky in that the clothes I design are made to be worn, used and loved and that’s always been the case. I wear a suit everyday and this particular collection really celebrates the enduring relevance of the suit,’ Smith said. ‘The code for Paul Smith has always been about creating something beautiful that people love to wear and then never forgetting the importance of the detail!’
London based writer Dal Chodha is editor-in-chief of Archivist Addendum — a publishing project that explores the gap between fashion editorial and academe. He writes for various international titles and journals on fashion, art and culture and is a contributing editor at Wallpaper*. Chodha has been working in academic institutions for more than a decade and is Stage 1 Leader of the BA Fashion Communication and Promotion course at Central Saint Martins. In 2020 he published his first book SHOW NOTES, an original hybrid of journalism, poetry and provocation.
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