Mood board: ‘New shapes, new fabrics and reworked prints,’ Smith said of his 50th anniversary collection. ‘I’ve softened British checks and houndstooth with Italian cloths and used exaggerated proportions to give it a dreamy feel.’ The designer is globally revered for his tailoring and print and for A/W 20 the suiting was light with a longer line on the jackets. Ties were replaced by high neck shirting with a zip at the side.
Best in show: The slightly flared trousers gave a nod to the 1970s when Smith began the label, working out of a small shop in Nottingham, which he started after meeting art students in the local Bell Inn pub. Speaking in 2008, he said: ‘they had an enormous effect on me – they opened up a world I did not know existed and probably the key thing was that the world was not just clothes but all aspects of creativity and this is what I tried to express.’ His collection forewent any romanticism, however, and instead looked ahead with long puffa jackets and trainers and floral-camo denim.
Sound bite: Smith has endured as a British design icon for half a century. ‘With it being my 50th anniversary, I’ve reflected on memorable moments from my own archive but reworked them in a modern and restrained way. I’ve revisited details from my past like raw edges, top-stitching and denim and brought them back!’ he said. Smith took an energetic bow as footage of his fifty years of finales played on a giant screen behind him.
