PAUL SMITH

Spring/Summer '15

For spring/summer '15, Paul Smith presents an honest and effortless way of dressing. Inspired by women with self-confidence and style, the palette is light, fabrics have an elegant delicacy, tailoring’s deconstructed and detailing has a masculine feel

Easing into summer on a wave of muted shades; light blue hues, off-whites and taupes predominate and are offset by bursts of khaki, navy and occasionally black. With stripes entrenched within the Paul Smith aesthetic, they’re reinterpreted this season running across silk separates and down loose cut suit jackets. The palette of natural colours is complimented by swathes of raw and tactile fabrics. Convention in staple items is often subverted through the combination of textures, with pieces featuring contrasting cloth types patch-worked together. Rough linen sits alongside smooth satin and twill cotton is punctuated with panels of sheer silk. Compact in their construction, technical tailoring fabrics have life and versatility that compliments the functional, wearable tone that runs throughout the collection. Deconstructing the form of a dinner shirt, buttoned collars are replaced with roll necks, sleeves are shortened to ease formality and skirts are sometimes added to create summer dresses. Elsewhere bib fronts remain and again contrasting fabrics are used to bring freshness. Trouser shapes vary; a nipped tuxedo pant compliments tailored jackets, fine cotton slacks have a looser form and oversized culottes billow in the breeze. Gold bracelets finished with an oversized cufflink charm appear throughout and sunglasses framed in pink and purple add an accent of colour to natural hair and raw beauty looks. Origami style bags seen on the men’s spring/summer 15 catwalk gain new life with fabrics inspired by the women’s clothing, reinforcing the synergy across the two collections. Sandals and strapped stilettos are constructed in raw leather to maintain the feeling of honesty and effortlessness from head-to-toe.