PAUL SMITH SS2013 @ Men & Women Collection

Paul Smith SS2013 men collection looks ahead to summer that brings a spark to the senses by celebrating modern masculine elegance, bold colour and sharp, refined tailoring. Colour is key and present at every level. Every shade of the spectrum is used from pale pastels to dusty blues, pinky taupes, and deep reds through to bright, hot, vibrant colour. Brought together, simple elements impact strongly against luxurious blacks and prints of scissors and manipulated roses.

Tailoring is smart and modern; jackets, slim and unfussy, have shoulders that are structured to give definition, but are not big or bulky. Trousers are pleated and pegged, with a stitched in stay press to accentuate the silhouette. Shirts return to larger, longer, angular collar points with high neck lines, which are worn with slim silk black polka dot neckties under laddered scissor-snipped knitwear or short zipped leather pieces. Outerwear comes in the form of a fully waterproof reversible welded seam mac cut with raw edges, with a contrast inside colour, creating a stiff straight silhouette to be worn over the tailored look. 

Footwear is all about elevating heels in turn creating an upright posture. The shape is short in length with a point in the toe, not just in scissor slashed shoes, but zip up ankle boots and an all-leather jelly shoe.

 The women’s collection takes inspiration from the work of multi-disciplinary French artist Jean-Paul Goude. The illustrator, photographer, art editor and fashion film director is best known for his avant-garde, almost surrealist style. Goude’s playful and experimental aesthetic influenced the collection’s graphic use of mix-and match colours and textures.

Masculine styles are given a feminine twist with fluid fabrics such as wool crepe and silk sable, and a mix of crepe-de-chine and georgette create light texture. Delicate lace inserts provide contrast while fluid, matt georgette provides a balance for supershine leather-look tailoring. Graphic stripes are a key motif in the collection; soft silhouettes contrast the linear prints. Soft pleats give the graphic styles a feminine touch.

Bright colours, including scarlet, sunshine yellow and bottle green are balanced by neutral black, navy and nude. Saturated hues are diluted to a more subdued rust, ochre and nude.