Designer name: Paul Smith
Origin: Nottingham
Career highlights: “Opening my first shop in Japan, my first show in Paris and being knighted in 2000.”
Design signatures: “Classic with a twist.”
How would you describe your ideal client? “Hopefully someone who is individual and not looking for label identification.”
Name three things that are inspiring you for spring/summer 2011? “Men’s shirts, rock’n’roll and a painting sent to me by a fan.”
What’s new for you this season? “The use of darker, richer colours rather than vibrant tones.”
Where do you go in London to seek ideas for a forthcoming collection? “So much goes on in this city, I can find inspiration in anything; films, exhibitions or just plain observation.”
As fashion fuses ever closer with art, film and music, how has London’s vibrant cultural scene influenced your SS11 collection? “Some of my inspiration for the collection came from Jimi Hendrix. It is the 40th anniversary of his death this month and he lived in London at the height of his career. His old flat on Brook Street in Mayfair is even being opened to the public for a short time this autumn."