Sir Paul Smith makes Biking Fashionable

The SBT crew does not know the Muffin Man personally or socially but we have heard that it is a well-established fact that he lives on Drury Lane.  It is also a well-established fact that Drury Lane is located in London’s West End.  Running in a similar line a few blocks to the west of Drury Lane is St. Martin’s Lane.  The two avenues form a rather swank and tony district of theaters, cafes, the Royal Opera House, and upscale clothing shops known as Covent Garden.  Covent Garden is sophistication and one of the finest shops in the area is that of Sir Paul Smith.

Paul Smith Floral Street men’s store opened in 1979.  It followed the successful launch of Sir Paul’s very first shop in Nottingham in 1970.  Smith has a series of shops in England with most in London but others can be found in Nottingham and Leeds.  In 2000 Smith was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in recognition of his 30 year career in fashion.  

Paul Smith did not start out looking to be a fashion icon.  He wanted to race bicycles.  He quit school at age 15 to concentrate on his budding cycling career.  His father quickly parked the bike and decided that if the young man would not go to school then he would go to work.  That work was an errand boy in a local fashion warehouse, a job young Smith disliked almost immediately but he found solace in that fact that he would be allowed to ride his bike to and from the warehouse each day. 

Smith managed to tolerate the job well enough and for two years worked steadily until a biking accident left him with serious injuries.  He spent the next six months in a hospital recuperating.  During the healing process Smith made fast friends with a cadre of older teens who were students at a local art college.  He was fascinated by this crowd of creative people and through their influence Smith took an interest in color and design.  When he was fully recovered, Smith went back to work at the warehouse only his position had changed from gofer to display creator.  His stunning match-ups and styles were creating striking pieces in the company’s showrooms.  Impressed, the company promoted Smith to menswear buyer. 

Now enthralled with fashion, Smith began taking tailoring classes in night school learning the basic cuts.  His styles were then, and are still today, the epitome of classic British tailoring.  His work is a blend of simplicity with splashes of color.  Floral prints and multi-colored stripes have become the Paul Smith style.  He soon, with the help of his wife Pauline, opened his first shop in 1970.  

Today Sir Paul is 65 with 3,000 employees working in 155 shops around the globe.  He is still a cycling fan and a Sir Paul Smith designed helmet is available in most shops or online at www.paulsmith.co.uk.  The passion he has for the sport is shown in his vast collection of rider signed jerseys dating back to the early 1970s.  

Last week in Milan, Italy, Sir Paul, in his usual friendly and humorous manner, unveiled his jersey designs for the 2013 Giro d’Italia.  The designs are true Sir Paul Smith: simple, sophisticated and colorful.  The Maglia Rosa jersey worn by the overall leader is the standard Giro pink but with red piping and perfect fit and cut.  We have a video of Sir Paul delivering some fashion tips on our website at www.stickybottleteam.net.

From Left: Sprint, Overall, Mountain, Young Rider