3 Review(s)

This handsome volume celebrates over forty years of the playful and trendsetting English fashion brand and retailer Paul Smith. Always in fashion, Paul Smith is not only a preeminent fashion designer but also an international retail trendsetter who perfected a classic style that exudes a sense of English tradition combined with humor, playfulness, and mischief. This marriage of sophistication and the unexpected has given birth to a style and identity that--forty years and many collections later--remains charming, personable, and effortlessly hip. Published in association with the Design Museum, London, which is hosting a major exhibition on Paul Smith in the fall of 2013, this volume celebrates not only the line's fashion history, collections, and collaborations but also the inspirations and obsessions that have helped to transform a small bedroom-sized shop into an innovative global forum for culture and style. Paul Smith is a full-on bright and rich visual experience, illustrated throughout with documentation of its diverse creative community and design inspirations, including Martin Parr, David Bowie, and Henry Moore, to name a few. Using hand-drawn designs, archival photographs, gorgeous original photography, and engaging essays, this colorful catalog weaves together a compelling visual tale of Paul Smith's prestigious projects and creative processes--from behind-the-scenes to on the streets--that built this multifaceted empire of cool.