Paul Smith

Early years Sir Paul Smith, born in Beeston, Nottinghamshire on July 1946, is one of the most important English fashion designer. whose business and reputation is founded upon his menswear.
Paul Smith left school at the age of 14, a member of Beeston Road Club his only ambition was to become a racing cyclist until a terrible cycling accident put an end to his sportive ambitions, and the Smith's career in fashion design began. Paul Smith started to take evening classes for tailoring with Gordon Valentine Tipton in Nottinghamshire who showed him how to cut cloth as well as the basics. With the help of his then girlfriend (now wife) Pauline Denyer, who was an RCA fashion graduate, and a small amount of savings, he managed to open his first shop 10 Byard Lane, Nottingham in 1970. By 1976 Paul showed his first menswear collection in Paris, under the Paul Smith label.
Career He gradually expanded the retail business, being the first fashion brand to open on Floral Street in London's Covent Garden in 1979, where his shop offered an eclectic combination of clothes and 'finds' for men which reflected his own magpie personality.
The international growth of his business began and most famously in Japan, where his British designs have been particularly popular,[citation needed] while he expanded into three adjacent stores on Floral Street. A converted town-house in Notting Hill, London opened in 1998 and is now his flagship shop, with the company's operational heart remaining between Nottingham and London. In 1998 Paul showed his first women's collection at London Fashion Week, the women's mainline collection continues to this day. Since 2007, Smith has opened shops in Dubai, Bangalore, Leeds, Antwerp, Los Angeles and another shop in London, in addition to a brand new warehouse building in Nottingham.
Paul Smith remains fully involved in the business, designing clothes, choosing fabrics, approving the shop locations and overseeing every development within the company.[citation needed] He has showrooms in London, Paris, Milan, New York and Tokyo. At the moment he is working to design the London Olympics posters and signs.
Brand description and/or history reference by courtesy of Wikipedia Paul Smith Wiki Official international site Paul Smith History