He began with a talk about finding inspiration from everywhere ('You can find inspiration everywhere, if you can't, then you're not looking hard enough'), and showed how you can take something as simple as a beach hut, and turn it into a jumper, or shirt, or socks. He offered advice to aspiring designers: 'the world doesn't need any more designers so you need to find something that makes you stand out', 'you need to look and SEE', the importance of lateral thinking, and talked about all of the different elements which come together to create a successful designer.
He then began a talk with Alexa who prompted him by asking questions and something that was very clear from the start was that his mind is all over the place, as many creative minds are. He was up on his feet, then sitting back down, then showing off his socks, glasses on then off, lying on the sofa, talking about one thing then jumping to another, but this just emphasised his creativeness and all the ideas he had running through his mind at once. Their discussion ranged from how much he likes what the Queen wears and the quality of her clothes, to the fact that so many people get Paul Smith socks for Christmas to his choice of swimwear for his daily 5am swims. Apparent from the start was his enthusiasm for everything, especially life. When asked what motivated him, he responded 'the love of life'. He also said that he sees 'everyday as a new beginning', and his adoration of his wife and his job were so clear that it made me happy just hearing him talk about how happy he was!
He stated that he didn't like criticism at all and he didn't read press or reviews of his shows because by the time the reviews are in, buyers have already bought his products so it makes no difference to him anyway, and he is already onto the next season. He and Alexa then agreed that the opinions of family and friends are the only ones you should listen to as theyre the only ones who truly know you.
This fast pace and ever-changing face of the fashion industry led to talk about technology. He took a very different point of view form Natalie Massenet and stated that he did not have a computer and his wife doesn't even have a mobile phone. His assistants deal with his emails but he feels that when people spend all their life looking at screens, they are missing the inspiration in the world around them. He then went on to talk about Instagram and the fact that he chooses what goes on his Instagram and blog but doesn't put it on there himself. He does, however, shoot all of his own campaigns and this sparks from his father being an amateur photographer.
There is so much to say about his talk that I could write for hours, so a few final ideas I particularly loved are:
- He is not in it for the money, he feels that he has a duty to keep his brand successful as he employs thousands of workers and they all have families and bills to pay and he owes it to them to keep them all in work.
- It is important to have a point of view and a reason people should buy YOUR clothes, however if you are going into a company, you need to be enthusiastic and have a point of view but be open to other peoples points of view and not be overpowering.
- You have to be interested and interesting otherwise people will not pay attention.
- 'There's a lot of good out there, you have to be better'
- Success like his comes from loving what you do and constantly being inspired by finding beauty in everything
Regularly showcased on the red carpet, stars such as Halle Berry and Rhianna have been wearing some of the English duo's collection - showing off its sophistication and elegance.
