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Paul Smith

Founder and Chairman, Paul Smith Group Holdings Ltd

Search every verified Paul Smith interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Paul Smith, founder and chairman of Paul Smith Holdings, appeared in several interviews and campaigns in September 2026, around his 80th birthday and more than 50 years in business. In a Videofashion Designers episode, he discussed his entry into fashion after a cycling accident, his early menswear focus, and his current work re-energizing the company with a new young team. He also spoke about the challenges of running shops globally, citing high rents and the removal of VAT duty-free shopping as factors affecting retail, and expressed a view that British fashion has lacked consistent government support. In an interview with the BBC, Smith reflected on his career, noting that he remains self-financed and the boss of his personal business, which he said comes from the heart rather than being backed by shareholders. He described his daily routine of swimming at 5:30 a.m. and arriving at work by 6 a.m., and said he wore a suit every day during COVID lockdowns. He also discussed his use of rubber chickens as a communication tool in Japan, his design work beyond clothing including bikes, watches, and spectacles, and his advice to students to grow slowly and patiently. Additionally, he appeared in a promotional campaign for a third collaboration with Barbour, titled "Paul Smith loves Barbour: A Highland Odyssey," and participated in a conversation with actor Peter Capaldi at the FT Weekend Festival about fashion, creativity, and Capaldi's Doctor Who costume.

Recent appearances

Verified interview transcripts

Notable quotes

“I mean the great thing about Paul Smith is that uh it's never gone backwards. It's completely self financed. I'm the boss. So it's very personal business. Our business comes from the heart. It's not a big financial institution backed shareholder company. We're now selling 72 countries. Germany, in Japan, in Singapore, Bangkok, the Middle East. We're still moving. Love it. I love everything. I love every day. That's t”

“Definitely, but definitely Brexit and COVID. And that's in the book very honestly, very, very honestly because it was a complete nightmare, you know, because Brexit was just something that we absolutely didn't want. And that immediately we had all these new rules about trading with the various comp countries around the world and more paperwork and a different way of doing things and how it having to itemize absolutel”

“Before I answer that question directly I mean they took away VAT duty-free shopping from us a few years ago and a lot of the government I think attitude is like well why give wealthy people discount you know but it's bigger than that because it's to do with hotels it's to do with restaurants and places like the Royal Academy and hey you know they've really struggled with visitor numbers because a lot of that is to do”

“It's enormously difficult now to run a shop anywhere in the world and you have to really think hard and long about opening a shop anywhere now because unfortunately often it's the rents are too high, inappropriate for the times often because property developers have developed them and had to borrow money to develop them and so they need... I think if the shop can be personal and feel like there's an owner even though”

“I think the Brits generally we've got a bit of you know we do have a sense of humor. We do are we are quite lighthearted about it and I think our downfall in fashion anyway is that generally speaking we've not really had support from various governments or various industry figures that think fashion is a serious sort of thing. So I mean I've you know I can go back with many politicians that I I'm not political at all”

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