In a career spanning over forty years, Paul Smith has become one of Britain's foremost designers. The Paul Smith brand is known for an unmistakable classic Englishness augmented with a colourful 'twist'. It now includes fourteen different collections for men and women, with shops in sixty-six countries across the world. Paul Smith remains fully involved in all aspects of the business from designing the clothes to choosing the fabrics and approving the shop locations and design.
This Design Museum exhibition explores how Paul Smith's unique and intuitive take on design, coupled with an understanding of the importance between designer and retailer, have laid the foundations for the company's lasting success. The exhibition charts the company's development from Paul's first shop in Nottingham, measuring just three by three metres, to its now global scale with shops in London, Paris, Milan, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Antwerp, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, U.A.E. – and over 200 throughout Japan.
The exhibition is presented through the different stages of design and production behind a catwalk collection, offering great insight into Paul Smith's design and marketing process. Visitors will gain a key insight in to Paul's passions, his attention to detail and a detailed look at a year in his life. It will also focus on the unique energy and vision of Paul Smith himself. What drives him as a designer and the significant items, people and places that have inspired him during his career. A section will also be dedicated to Paul Smith's shop designs, from a shocking pink building with movie set styling on Melrose Avenue, LA, to a Japanese garden at the heart of the Jingumae store in Tokyo.
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