Paul Smith – Master of Stripes
Sophisticated, slightly eccentric and always very subtle: Sir Paul Smith. Knighted by the Queen for his effortless look with an air of British eccentricism. His stripes have become his personal and his label's trademark, leaving their imprint on the fashion scene. Paul Smith's introduction into fashion was rather coincidental than planned – or was it a twist of fate after all? Regardless, it was not planned.Fashion by coincidence
Smith was an unemployed teenager when he entered the fashion industry, after his father propelled him into a job as runner for a clothing store in Nottingham. However, his real passion was sport and his ambition was to become a professional racing cyclist until aged 17 years, when Paul was in a terrible accident that confined him to hospital for nearly six months. A reunion with his new friends from hospital sparked the initial idea. The meeting place was a local pub that was popular with the students from the local art college. That was in the late 1960s and they talked of Mondrian, Warhol, Kokoshka, David Bailey and listened to the Rolling Stones, Miles Davies and much more. It was then Paul knew he wanted to be a part of this colourful world of ideas and excitement.
An impressive career
With the encouragement of his girlfriend (now wife) Pauline Denyer and a small amount of savings, he opened a tiny shop in Nottingham in 1970, started to take evening classes for tailoring and with the help of Pauline (a Royal College of Art graduate), Paul was able to create what he wanted. By 1976, only six years after opening his first shop, Paul showed his first collection in Paris under the Paul Smith label.
Smith, the fashion rebel, surprises with intriguing combinations (of materials and patterns) and reinvents classical shapes as ultramodern designs. Nonetheless – or maybe as a result – his designs are suited for wear. This British label with an air of eccentricism became a huge success worldwide. Smith's characteristic and unmistakable trademark are stripe motives.
The fashion empire of Paul Smith includes eight shops in London and other points-of-sale in New York, Milan and Asia – and over two hundred shops throughout Japan – and twelve different collections. Paul Smith's creations are designed in Nottingham and in London and are mostly produced in England and in Italy with exquisite Italian, French and British textiles.
Striped furniture
Paul Smith's two textile collections "Bespoke Stripe" and "Stripes" are the result of a partnership with the textile manufacturer Maharam, Kvadrat's international partner, in 2003. Densely woven fabrics combine wool and satin to yield an upholstery collection whose quality complies with strict European requirements of contract furniture.
Designed as a textile series, these two striped textiles explore the colour range. Recurrent staccato motives, shade variations and highlighted sequences exemplify Smith's playful approach to colours and proportions. Each variation in frequency, colour, saturation and density appears to yield almost randomly a unique impression.
Bene Dexter featuring Brit Chic
Pinstripes: now not only for pencil pushers but also for office chairs. We outfitted our Dexter model with this elegant and business-appropriate cover.
This pinstriped cantilever chair has made its debut on the market in spring 2007. The stylish chair is available at Bene and B-Loose in London.
Nicole Schemerl-Streben
