It's good old-fashioned British style.
That's what Paul Smith does best, and this season saw him injecting certain recent trends - velvet, sheer panels, clashing prints - with ease.
"(The collection) needs a strong point of view," Paul said backstage. "With the show, with a big audience and with 12 minutes... It's very much about playing to my strengths - and I'm good at tailoring."
True to form, the iconic designer, who will also be showing menswear during fashion week, produced some of the finest suiting. The show might have opened with a silk dressing gown-style wrap but it quickly transitioned into highlights Paul's strengths: blazers, fitted shirts and double-breasted tweed outerwear.
"People often say to me you've moved away from colour but that is not true - it's colour but it's colour that's muted and very delightful," Paul explained, pointing out that this season he used petrol, aubergine and opal in his collection, adding: "It's the odd mix of how it comes together," which manifested in a maroon tweed jacket over a lime green roll-neck top or a cosy grey cashmere sweater worn with acid pink dip dye trousers. Unexpected twists to a heritage we know so well, that elevate Smith's style status.
And while the designer usually focuses on a mix of masculine and feminine, this season he says he's added more ladylike pieces: "I have a bit of see through, some jewels, some beads and more liquid fabrics." He points out that even when he does use manlier tweed or cashmere it's always extremely soft and often features a feminine detail like a bright lining inside a coat.
Decades in fashion have taught him that there's various ways to make clothes more feminine without cheapening his standards. With autumn/winter it's a more tapered silhouette. Paul said simply: "There's no flesh, but it's very sexy. That's just years of learning how to cut." And that's the best lesson we've learned all day.
By Dana Karlson
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