Biography
In his youth, Paul Smith wanted to become an athlete, but an accident turned his life. He gained a new breath as an enterprising businessman and a talented English designer.Childhood and youth
Paul Smith was born on July 5, 1946 in the English County Nottinghamshire. He grew up in the family of a community, who in his free time was fond of photography and put his interest in her son. But in childhood, the boy loved to ride a bike much more harder, this hobby seized him that at the age of 15 he threw school, wanting to become a professional cyclist.
To make money on life, the floor got an employee to the warehouse of clothing in Nottingham. During this period, he continued to train hard, paying on a bike all his free time, but one day he fell into an accident, after which he was on a hospital bed for six months. Later, already being famous fashion designer, Smith was not tired of repeating that this event was the beginning of a new life, the symbol of which serves as an old bicycle with a wicked wheel.
Lying in the hospital, the young man acquired new buddies, who, after discharge, invited him to the pub, where the art school students were going. There the floor first showed interest in art, began to get involved in fashion, painting and architecture. Later, he received the first knowledge of doing business when he helped his girlfriend to open a boutique, and then thought about his own business. But dreams could not come true if not one woman.
Personal life
The floor was 21, when Pauline came to his creative and personal life. She was 6 years older, had an unsuccessful marriage behind his shoulders and brought up two children, but all this did not embarrass the in love with a young man. Polne became his mentor, assistant and inspirational. As a graduate of the College of Arts, she gave Smith knowledge about the basics of creating clothes, the meaning of originality and quality.Embed from getty imagesThe chosen was next to the designer since 1967, but they got married only in 2000. According to the recognition of sex, for all the years, that they together, almost there were almost disagreements between them, and the feelings remained as strong as before. If he is not on a trip, it hurries home exactly at 18:00 to spend time with his wife or arrange a romantic date.
Fashion
The fashion designer opened his first store in 1970 in Nottingham. He was tiny and wore a fashionable French name VêTements Pour Homme, which Smith later considered too pathetic. But in those years, he encouraged with enthusiasm to the first business project, which almost did not bring income. For this reason, the boutique worked 2 days a week, because the rest of the time the owner spent on earnings in London. Paul served as seller, stylist and designer, granting for any suggestions to gain experience and acquire connections.
The desire to distract the attention of buyers from the narrow space of the store led to an original and advantageous solution. The fashion designer began to trade not only with clothes, but also by different souvenir trifles from the peer knife from Greece to the poster brought from the Parisian cafe.
The debut show in Paris also passed for a designer without the sweep, which can be seen in the fashion week. He presented a male collection in the apartment of friends, where only 35 people came. The show was budget, and the models agreed to work for a reasonable fee, demonstrating outfits to the music from a cassette tape recorder, but the friendly and inspirational atmosphere reigned around.
After that, Smith was repeatedly returned to the fashionable capital, pleaseing the public with bright and spectacular shown. He invested in business development from the sale of clothing and opened a store in London in 1979. The boutique was performed in a minimalist style and was a room out of no covered concrete.
After 3 years, the Paul first visited Japan and remained delighted. He brought new-fashioned gadgets from there, which resold in the store. They used such demand that sometimes managed to get revenue more than from the sale of clothing. Later on the shelves appeared multicolored organizers filofax and pink vacuum cleaners, which fit into the concept.
In subsequent years, the boutiques network continued to expand, and the name Paul Smith turned into a world-famous brand. The fashion designer opened the points not only in Europe, but also in Asia and the United States, where it did not lose effect even after joining the industry of the famous American designer of men's clothing Tom Brown. Thanks to the breadth of thinking, the ability to create trends and devotion to quality, he acquired clients among such stars as David Bowie and Gary Oldman.
In 1993, Smith released the first female collection, inspired by clients who came to the store in search of things of small size. Over time, production has increased to several lines, including accessories, bags, perfume and even furniture that are created at different points of the world.
Going up with the times, in 2004 the floor provided customers with the opportunity to acquire new clothes remotely. The brand has an official website with which you can get into the online store.
Paul Smith now
In 2020, celebrities had to face difficulties due to a coronavirus infection pandemic, because because of the self-insulation regime, the shops were closed, and the shows were not carried out. But all this inspired him to create a new comfortable collection.
Work on it was carried out remotely, and for four months the designer was in his studio alone, communicating with employees by telephone and video link. He turned to the last way in November, when I talked to Ivan Urgant within the Evening Urgant show.
Now the fashion designer continues to create. He leads a blog in Instagram, where publishes the photo and reports news.