PAUL SMITH
STORY SO FAR
Founded in 1970 by Sir Paul Smith (b. 1946, Beeston, Nottinghamshire) when he opened a 3 x 3 metre shop, 'Paul Smith Vêtements Pour Homme', at 6 Byard Lane, Nottingham — at the time the only menswear destination outside London selling contemporary labels like Kenzo and Margaret Howell. Smith showed his first menswear collection in Paris in 1976; opened his Floral Street flagship in Covent Garden in 1979; opened Tokyo in 1984 and New York in 1987. The brand has grown into a global business with around 130 stores in over 60 countries, spanning men's and women's clothing, accessories, fragrance and home. Smith was made CBE in 1994 and became the first British fashion designer to receive a knighthood in 2000. The label is known for tailored menswear underpinned by a recognisable use of colour, signature multi-stripe and a distinctly English sense of humour.
DESIGNED BY
Sir Paul Smith and the in-house Paul Smith design studio, headquartered in London. UK-based: Yes.
MADE BY
Per the brand's own 'The Road to Italy' essay: the vast majority of Paul Smith product is made in Italy — tailoring around Naples, shoes in Tuscany or the Marche near Ancona, plus knitwear, shirts and leather goods produced by named Italian specialists. The brand also describes a 'Made in the British Isles' capsule with named UK partners: outerwear by White Label London (Leyton, London), knitwear by Corah Textiles (Nottinghamshire) and socks by Corgi Hosiery (Carmarthenshire), plus some Scottish, Irish and Yorkshire knitwear, socks, shoes and leather goods. The brand explicitly describes the British-made share as a 'very small proportion' of overall production. Other production occurs across Portugal, Turkey and elsewhere in Europe.
TO BUY
FURTHER INFORMATION
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Smith_(fashion_designer)
Further research reading
Region Made
