LONDON – After showing at Pitti Uomo in Florence last summer, Paul Smith is taking his men’s show on the road with plans to join the Milan Men’s Week calendar in June.
Smith’s show is scheduled to take place on June 21 at 5:00 p.m. local time. The show will be the designer’s first show in Milan as part of the official calendar. Last year, he was the guest designer at Pitti Uomo.
“For the first time ever, I’m delighted to be showing my new collection as a part of Milan Men’s Fashion Week in June. I’ve proudly had my own showroom in Milan for 22 years and have great affection for the city,” Smith said.
“I’ll be hosting a salon-style show which I know will be intimate and honest to who we are,” he added. The chosen venue is Smith’s vast showroom space at 95 Viale Umbria.
Smith has staged events and presentations during Milan Men’s Week before, showcasing collections by London menswear labels including Craig Green, and exhibiting an array of cycling jerseys in his showroom.
Paul Smith at Claridge’s in London.
Courtesy
Smith usually shows his men’s collections in Paris, and earlier this year opted for a salon-style show at his showroom in the French capital.
As reported, he set up theater-type seating in his Paris showroom and brought groups of models on stage before going into detail about the origins of the clothing and fabric and his inspirations for the collection.
It was spontaneous and authentic, with Smith speaking fluently about the designs and talking his audience through the origins of thornproof fabrics, space-dyed wool and Prince of Wales check patterns.
He also showed off a Friesian cow print from his new collaboration with Barbour, and then pulled out one of those children’s toys that makes a loud “moo” sound when it’s turned upside down.
Smith has been spending some time in Italy of late. Earlier this week, he attended the banquet at Quirinale Palace hosted by President of Italy Sergio Mattarella as part of King Charles’ and Queen Camilla’s state visit.
