Good morning!
In the three days since releasing our latest Time Sensitive, episode featuring the British fashion designer Paul Smith, I’ve received many messages from listeners about their love of both the man and the brand.
One listener, the architect Christian Wassman, wrote, “Just listened to your joyful conversation with Paul Smith. I liked his store and clothes from the moment I walked in, during one of my first visits to London in the early 1990s. As I was checking out the things on display, I realized that Paul himself was on the floor helping customers, and making them feel seen and heard.” Another, who DMed me to say that he was listening to the episode while mowing the lawn, mentioned how much he enjoyed hearing us talk about Paul’s briefcase with a model train set inside. “I remember seeing his train-set suitcase in an issue of How to Spend It,” he wrote. “Loved hearing that bit in his interview with you.” If ever there were the perfect symbol to encapsulate Paul—whose designs combine expert tailoring with playful and unexpected touches—it may be that briefcase.
My friend the philosopher Simon Critchley (himself a former Time Sensitive guest) texted me to say that he’s been wearing Paul Smith clothing “for decades. Especially his three-quarter-length coats.” Which made me think of something Paul says on the episode: “The thing I’m most proud of, really, is continuity. So many people just want to build a business which they then sell on after ten or fifteen years. That’s the whole motivation, is to actually build a business to then sell, or sadly they don’t really keep their feet on the ground, so the business comes and goes quite quickly.” (Later, he says, “Now that I’m 77, maybe I will think about letting somebody buy into it or something.”)
When I ask Paul to explain how he views his long-term success, he doesn’t focus on his designs, but rather on his “love of life. Every day is a new beginning to me. It’s such a joyful job.” I suppose this frame of mind is exactly what makes him one of the most beloved people in the fashion industry. After all, Paul tells me, “It’s just clothes.”
—Spencer
