In this episode of Videofashion Style: With a bold palette and a cheeky wink, Paul Smith has become one of the most financially prosperous designers working in London. An avid racing cyclist, Smith’s athletic career came to a halt when he suffered a severe accident. With the insistence and support of his wife, Pauline, Smith found a new calling in design, and launched his fashion business in menswear. Four
decades later, Paul Smith continues to resonate as a British fashion icon with global appeal. The witty designer credits his band’s ongoing success to a mix of ethics and passion for his wor...
What Paul Smith said
Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.
Paul Smith discussed his career and design philosophy, noting he fell into fashion after a cycling accident and was helped by his wife Pauline. He said the business is self-financed, personal, and not backed by shareholders, selling in 72 countries including Germany, Japan, Singapore, Bangkok, and the Middle East. He described collections inspired by orientalism, a book called Gentlemen of Bakongo, and the androgynous look, emphasizing easy-to-wear pieces. He mentioned opening a second store in New York's Greene Street after 20 years, featuring women's clothes for the first time on the East Coast. He highlighted his team, photography, bicycle design, and other projects as sources of stimulation. He noted the challenge of live-streamed shows enabling imitation but stressed his strong character and honest, down-to-earth company. He also mentioned working with bands since age 18, including Fleetwood Mac, and having a print studio in London.
Key takeaways
Paul Smith's business is self-financed, not backed by shareholders, and sells in 72 countries.
He opened a second store in New York's Greene Street after 20 years, with women's clothes for the first time on the East Coast.
He has been working with bands since age 18, including Fleetwood Mac, and uses their music in shows.
He has a print studio in London and draws inspiration from paisley patterns, ties, wallpaper, and carpets.
A fashion designer's impact goes beyond the runway. They change the way we look at ourselves and those around us. Video Fashion Designers chronicles their past successes and follows their evolution into the 21st century.
With a bold palette and a cheeky wink, Paul Smith has become one of the most financially prosperous designers working in London. His sense of whimsy is fundamental to his success. But Smith didn't initially start on a fashion path.
I literally fell into fashion. While pursuing a career as a professional racing cyclist, a nasty accident put him in the hospital for several months. And Smith came out looking for a new start. After meeting his wife Pauline, who was trained in fashion design, Smith ventured into designing his own label with her help and began with creating men's wear.
Just seemed very logical to design clothes for men in the beginning because that's what I knew about. And designing clothes for women has been quite a challenge because for me men's wear is a very natural thing being a man. And so I think when you enter the world of designing for women then it's been quite a big learning curve for me.
After three decades working as a designer, Paul Smith was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2001. Smith continues to resonate as a British fashion icon with global appeal.
I'm a great fan of Paul. I think he's so good at doing those fantastic men's classics, but making it so right for women. And he has that understanding of proportion and that incredible appreciation of British craftsmanship, which is so good to see here in Britain.
The witty designer credits his brand's ongoing success and international expansion to a mix of ethics and passion, attributes which will never go out of style.
I mean the great thing about Paul Smith is that 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 the key thing.
For your viewers who maybe saw my winter show, my fall show, it had a section in it called men only, which was very popular. It was taking inspiration from some of my men's collections. And so I've kept that going. So lovely single breasted jackets, the little blazers, but always, you know, worn in a very feminine way.
The show is, I suppose you call it punctuated with things like the color of the dip dye silk, some print. Even though if you go into my showroom, there's lots of print, but I think with a fashion show, you've got to try and make a strong statement. And I decided with the androgynous look being still so popular to really continue the sort of men only feeling.
It's important for the viewers to understand that it's men's clothes but always very feminine and always very, you know, easy to wear.
Smith, P. (2026, September 24). Videofashion Designers: Paul Smith | Archival runway and designer interviews [Interview transcript]. Videofashion. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/2927242/
MLA
Paul Smith. "Videofashion Designers: Paul Smith | Archival runway and designer interviews." Videofashion, 24 Sep. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/2927242/.
BibTeX
@misc{smith2026_2927242,
author = {Paul Smith},
title = {Videofashion Designers: Paul Smith | Archival runway and designer interviews},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, Videofashion. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {sep},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/2927242/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
