Paul Smith: I will not let the glitz and superficiality of the fashion world change me. This is my promise to my wife.

Source: Luxe.CO

In the 2020 British "Queen's Birthday Honors" list this month, the famous British fashion designer Paul Smith received the highest honor - "Companion of Honor" ".

Perhaps because of Paul Smith's modesty and low profile, few people immediately think of him when they think of Britain's greatest businessman and entrepreneur. But counting from the opening of his first clothing store in Nottingham, Paul Smith has been involved in the fashion industry for 50 years, and recently established the Paul Smith Foundation.

Paul Smith himself is one of the true pioneers of the fashion industry: in the 1980s, after a trip to the United States, he concentrated on boxing shorts and sold them around the world. In the 1990s, he was one of the first designers to print photographs on fabric and deconstructed the design of suits so they were no longer "work clothes." Striped patterns were not invented by Paul Smith, but the two are almost synonymous.

From the first store to the brand’s 50th anniversary

On October 9, 1970 (Friday), Paul Smith opened a store at 6 Byard Lane, Nottingham, London, which was not even a store. “I found that I couldn’t afford to open a store, so I just found a room and called it a store. shop."

With damp walls and no windows, the store is only open every Friday and Saturday, and you have to walk down a winding corridor to enter. The name of this store is very high-end, called Paul Smith Vêtements Pour Homme, and it sells clothing designed by others, as well as odds and ends such as magazines and records. "Probably the first Friday of the store," Paul Smith made 35 pounds. "It's amazing how it survived!" Paul Smith recalled with a smile.

The manager of this store is a golden retriever Afghan hound named Homer raised by Paul Smith and Pauline Denyer (Paul Smith’s later girlfriend and now wife). "Homer was the supervisor and I worked with him. The funny thing is, we looked alike: big noses and long hair. Everyone said hello to him first, which, of course, annoyed my old self a little. They [Customers] walk into the store and say, 'Hi, Homer!' and then, 'Oh, Paul.'"

In 1982, Paul Smith went to Japan for the first time, which was still not taken seriously in the Western fashion industry at that time, and went there more than 100 times. The Paul Smith brand has also achieved amazing success in the Japanese market, with more than 200 franchise stores.

In 1991, Paul Smith was awarded the title of Royal Designer for Industry and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2000.

The store experience has been a major feature of the Paul Smith brand from the beginning. For example, there is a space in the store with 26,000 dominoes on the wall (London Mayfair store), or hundreds of old mobile phones (Paris store). Or tape (Tokyo store). From the beginning, Paul Smith has tried to make buying clothes a special experience. When he learned that the building where his first store was located had a small basement, he painted the walls and transformed it into an art gallery. With the help of an artist friend, an exhibition of works by David Hockney, David Bailey, and Andy Warhol was soon held.

“Basically I’ve been working in stores, serving people, since I was 15 years old,” recalls Paul Smith. “The thing about stores, especially in provincial towns, is that you need to put effort into attracting repeat customers. So you have to keep making the store look different. And think about how to make the trip worthwhile for the customer, even if the last time they walked in was three weeks ago. I think it’s not about becoming an entrepreneur, but figuring out how to keep it interesting and make people feel welcome.”

After half a century, Paul Smith's business has expanded globally, operating 166 stores in more than 60 countries and regions on five continents, with sales in 2019 reaching 215 million pounds.

The most noteworthy thing is that Paul Smith himself still owns a majority stake in the company. "Most brands in the world are basically divided up by four groups. Today's independent companies are as rare as Penny Black stamps." (Note) : Penny Black is a 1 penny stamp first issued by the United Kingdom in 1840. It is the first stamp in the world that can be affixed to envelopes)

Paul Smith admits: "Especially these days, everything has to be taken seriously because the company has 1,800 employees. But in the early days, I met Pauline who had been a sales assistant for six years. Then I thought we could open a (weekly) I only open the shop for two days, and the rest of the time I do other things to make money. I’ve always been so honest and lovely, which is probably why it’s done so well, because I’ve laid a solid foundation.”

Paul Smith said that his wife, Pauline Denyer, is the biggest contributor to his ability to keep having fun. "(Celebrating the brand's 50th anniversary) I'm going to let my hair down and get drunk in the bar. (Want to party with friends), but obviously this year is a bit sad and I will probably have dinner with my wife, who is Promoter of the company.”

"I've been lucky enough to have been with Pauline since I was 21, so I've never looked for another way of life. We're still in love, still together, enjoying each other's company and we've never pursued yachts or private jets. We do We're doing well, we have properties in Italy, London and we're very independent," said Paul Smith.

Pauline Denyer already had two sons when she met Paul Smith, but they had no children after their marriage. One of Pauline Denyer's sons worked at the label but left to focus on stage acting.

Paul Smith said that one of the joys of celebrating the 50th anniversary is browsing the archives and recalling the past. For example, the memory of Homer appears in the form of a photo in the brand’s 2020 spring and summer series promotional video, and the photo was taken by Paul Smith’s father Harold.

Future Plans, Daily Lifeand Retirement

The outbreak of the new coronavirus epidemic has made the retail industry, especially the fashion industry, one of the most unstable industries currently. But Paul Smith has already adapted to such market fluctuations. For example, during the "Three-Day Week" in 1974, he had to use generators to light up the Christmas lights in the store, and he experienced the miners' strike in the 1980s. He has experienced several financial crises, but this new crisis is different, more global and less hopeful. "This is the worst situation yet," Paul Smith concluded.

During the first lockdown of the epidemic, Paul Smith spent most of his time alone in the office, trying to keep the company running. But today’s market conditions are also the most difficult challenge Paul Smith has faced for so long, but he himself is not pessimistic. “We may run out of cash, who knows? But fortunately, our performance so far has been very solid. .”

"I do a lot of work in the company and have many titles. (After the outbreak) I was thinking, what impact will closing some stores in 70 countries have on the company's performance? Then I went to prepare the 2021 spring and summer series," Paul Smith said.

The Paul Smith brand has had a good start to 2020, with fashion critics expressing deep impressions of the brand's Paris autumn/winter fashion show in January. In this show, Paul Smith adopted modern and thin tailoring, while classic elements such as plaid, houndstooth, and graphic prints appeared. In the latest 50th anniversary capsule series, many classic picture prints in the brand's history are reproduced, such as the pasta print that first appeared in 1994, the apple print that first appeared in the 1990 spring and summer series, etc.

Paul Smith was hip in many ways, but he was really resistant to technology. “I had a notebook and a pen, we didn’t have a computer at home, we didn’t have an answering machine. Pauline and I would write letters to people every morning,” but he also emphasized that this approach was not suitable for brands – Paul Smith Brand Since He has been selling online since 2004. "The survival of the brand is closely related to e-commerce. As a company, we are very rational, but I personally don't like to sit in front of the screen all day long. This is not what I want to do."

During the epidemic, online sales of the Paul Smith brand increased by 20%. "The Japanese market performed best, and the earlier reopening of stores in Asian countries allowed us to control losses to a 10% reduction." Paul Smith pointed out that the company's current main task is to focus on consolidating performance and cutting costs.

In 2017, Paul Smith returned to the brand to regain control of the creative department. Two years after he returned to the helm, the brand successfully achieved a performance reversal. (For details, see "Luxe.Co": The founder who is over 70 years old has returned, and the British designer brand Paul Smith's performance has resumed growth, with profits nearly doubling)

Paul Smith said that his current role in the company is to provide inspiration to the brand's team of young designers. Sometimes just holding a Dieter Rams-era Braun radio and saying, “Here’s a pair of shoes!”

"I always tell them, 'I just throw out a lot of ideas, some of which you're going to think are silly or irrelevant, but my job is to throw out ideas, think laterally, maybe come up with a book or an interesting a hat, a toy, a painting or something else' that sparks a conversation and maybe, after just an hour, some ideas for a new collection," says Paul Smith.

Paul Smith doesn’t know what will happen in the future, but he will continue his current life: get up before 5 o’clock, go swimming to relieve back pain, start working all day at 6 o’clock, and drive his Mini until 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Cooper goes home and often does a shopping trip to a store in London on his way home. He rarely goes out in the evenings, which may seem odd for someone who has a knack for being easygoing with people, but Paul Sminth has never been swayed by the "glitzy, superficial side of the fashion world." This is also his promise to his wife.

He knows that the outside world is very curious about when he will retire and the selection of his successor, but he said that it does not matter, "If I am healthy and there are no problems caused by not keeping up with the times, then I will be happy to continue to participate. I don't know Where (the brand) ends up, if it gets sold, there's a great team here who will continue the brand in a way that I like."