Paul Smith Junior

Paul Smith is widely recognised as one of the most innovative and successful fashion designers of all time.  Known for his classic tailoring, Paul Smith clothing is well-made, good quality, simply cut and easy to wear.  Born in Nottingham in 1946, Paul Smith’s original ambition was to be a professional racing cyclist.  Leaving school at 15 with no qualifications, he took a job as an errand boy in a Nottingham clothing warehouse.  One fateful day at the age of 17, Smith had a severe road accident during his cycle to work which hospitalised him for several months.  Although this put an end to his cycling ambitions, cycling’s loss was fashion’s gain.  During his stay in hospital, he became friends with many art college students who properly introduced him to the world of fashion and art for the first time.  On his return to work, he started out by making displays for the showroom and was quickly promoted to menswear buyer.  Taking evening classes in tailoring, pattern cutting and other basic skills, he eventually joined Lincroft Kilgour in Saville Row where his first designs were worn by many celebrities of the day, including high profile footballer, George Best.  Paul Smith opened his first shop in 1969, encouraged by his wife-to-be Pauline Denyer.  It was the first shop outside of London to sell brands such as Kenzo and Margaret Howell, as well as many of Paul’s own designs.  Nowadays, there are over 200 Paul Smith shops worldwide, 18 shops in the UK and many concessions on top of these numbers.  Paul Smith was also the first designer to open a fashion house on Floral Street in London’s Covent Garden in 1979.  The first Paul Smith children’s collection didn’t arrive until 1990 (followed by womenswear in 1993).  Although well-received, children’s wear was initially halted due to lack of time and resources, but was fully relaunched in 2010 as Paul Smith Junior.  Staying true to Smith’s unique vision, Paul Smith Junior offers a bright, punchy colour palette and sees many of its silhouettes inspired by both the men’s and women’s collections.  Many of the themes of Paul Smith Junior and the adult collections are inspired by the designer’s many interests such as cycling, photography, collecting and architecture. Other significant features are the iconic Paul Smith stripe and Dino the dinosaur, who features in both menswear and the Paul Smith Junior dinosaur collection.  A designer that has received many accolades including numerous designer of the year awards and a knighthood, Paul Smith is the king of quintessential British style.  Choose Paul Smith Junior online and in store at Designer Childrenswear for children ages 0-16 years.