IT was late because there were traffic dramas on the way from the Topshop Unique show beforehand, but there is something so comforting about a Paul Smith show that we didn’t really mind the wait. Once the girls started striding down the catwalk - all flat loafer and cropped mannish trousers nonchalance – it was easy to watch and as optimistic as ever.
This is what Paul Smith does best – menswear cut for girls in colour combinations that break the rules in all the right ways. A sassy white trouser suit started it off, then dark blue trousers came with a pale blue blouse belted in plum, or turquoise came with yellow and peach – a raspberry trilby or a pair of leopard print ankle flat ankle boot there to make each look your own.
There were blue and khaki tartan trousers and matching blouses to play to the print-blocking trend, while buttercup yellow silk wrap skirts and sleeveless day dresses of tan or peacock blue silk added a touch of femininity, followed by a smudged iris print that gave any of the other abstracts we’ve seen this week a run for their money.
The message was that simple is beautiful: if you have a Paul Smith jacket in your life (OK, in several colours), then you don’t want for much more - maybe an oversized white cotton blouse, and a spectrum of brilliantly tailored trousers. The Paul Smith boys-for-girls look can sometimes come across as overly earnest on the catwalk, but tonight it looked just right.
With thanks to Mercedes Benz.
SEE THE PAUL SMITH SHOW ARCHIVE