Mood board: To call this a greatest hits collection would be accurate in the sense that Sir Paul Smith pointed to various looks and said they re-interpreted clothes he had designed for David Bowie or Talking Heads decades ago. This wasn't a 45-year retrospective (even if he noted that the young studio team voraciously went through the archives in Nottingham) so much as a toast to individuality, hence the title 'Independent Mind'. Aside from David Hockney-esque colour accents - which frequently converged as vibrant lining - the collection got its kick from new fabrications such as linen printed with lurex and graphic shirting. Pants came slouchy, skinny, high-waisted, low-slung, pleated or polka-dotted. But none surprised as much as the pair animated with oversized ants.
Sound bite: '"Independent mind" means being yourself and dressing the way you want rather than the way the big institutions say, "Wear this and you'll be fashionable,"' Sir Smith told us post-show. 'You dress within your character… individuality is always something that has been really important to us.'
Scene setting: We couldn't resist asking the designer about the near-skittish selection of multi-generational rock - nearly one track per outfit - and how this aligned with the variety within the show. Sir Smith gladly volunteered his iPhone, showing off a list that included The Kinks, Bo Diddley, The Strokes, The White Stripes, Dick Dale and more. Turns out, the man who cuts his hair weighed in on the final cut, 24 songs in total.
Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
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