Click images to enlarge.
Sir Paul Smith talks about clothes honestly. The first look out at his SS13 show was a bright red suit and this is what he said about it: “For a show of 12 minutes, you want to make a strong impact. Of course you show some suits that are red but not many people actually wear those suits. Not many people go for the full bright colour but it’s nice as elements; a jacket with blue jeans and so on.” Diluting the red, and the equally confident mint greens, ochre yellows and pale blues, were dark greens, navies and mauves on suits, neat Harrington jackets, crew neck jumpers, T-shirts and a few smart/casual code pea coats. A sliced up red rose print appeared on slim cut trousers and shirts, hinting at a rebellion in tune with the soundtrack which was entirely New Order with a crowd pleasing ‘Blue Monday‘ finale. “My shows have always had a rock’n'roll aesthetic”, Sir Paul continued in the backstage interview that felt more like a lesson on life from the voice of wisdom, “I come from an era where boys were dressing like girls a lot, with long hair, more bohemian and hippy, and print was what we did to look different from the previous generations. We made shirts out of curtains and jackets out of pillow cases. Anything went.” Wearing buckled leather sandals and clutching giant bags, there was a bit of the boys like girls dressing but generally it was clothes all boys would want to wear. Well that’s the point of menswear, but some like to forget it. “With clothes for men it’s always about nudging not shoving”, Sir Paul concluded, as he turned to shake the hands of all the boys from his show, eagerly waiting – which they don’t often do – to say thank you.
Text: Sarah Raphael
Photography: Mitchell Sams
Click here to see our SS13 Menswear coverage in full.
