The eternal, shining optimism of Sir Paul Smith’s collections often offers a welcome respite from menswear’s moody thinkers. This season, Smith channelled the artistic energies of the Giardini della Biennale in Venice and its colourful, flamboyant patrons. His retro tailoring was cut in deep, crystalline tones of teal and petrol satin, paired with degradé silk scarves and bold pattern clashes of paisley, check and zigzag chevrons. Swathes of leather fringing around necklines and shirt hems were a hit-or-miss touch of bohemia, with more convincing oddities arriving in a series of intarsia knits dotted with the refuse of a glamorous picnic, from banana peels, cherries and soda cans to the eerie blue hands of a female figure with red-painted nails.
Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
