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| Welcome Message |
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| Working hard and learning new skills have been invaluable to the growth of Paul Smith
Ltd. Each day since I opened my first shop in 1970 has been a new lesson and I am still
learning today!
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| My introduction into fashion was completely accidental. My real passion was sport and
I dreamt of becoming a professional racing cyclist. However aged 17, I had a cycling accident
which left me in hospital where I made some new friends. After leaving hospital I met
these friends again and by chance the pub where we met was popular with local art
college students.They talked of Mondrian, Warhol, David Bailey and listened to the Rolling
Stones, Miles Davis and much more. I knew I wanted to be part of this colourful world of
ideas and excitement.
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| Absorbing everything became my training. I worked in the local clothing warehouse
before opening my own shop. I took evening classes for tailoring and gradually began to
create what I wanted. I am not a brilliant designer, or a brilliant businessman but I am
pretty OK at both which has been invaluable.
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| The UK has constantly fuelled and inspired my work and is incredibly important to me.
I now have shops worldwide with over 200 in Japan. The success of the collection rests,
I believe, on its simplicity and practicality of design, mixed with a quirky twist. In many
ways, this marriage of the formal with the unexpected is symbolic of the British experience
as a whole. I'm sure that coming to study in the UK will prove to be rewarding in so many
more ways than simply educational.
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| I wish you the very best of luck in your time in the UK. I hope that you find your new
home as inspiring as I do. Inspiration is incredibly important to me - I am continually
inspired by all that surrounds me.
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| Photographer Mischa Richter |
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