Did you know? The truth has been materially altered in one of the following.*
2. Smith published his first book in 2001. Entitled, You Can Find Inspiration in Everything, it was described by Smith as his ‘brain on the page’.
3. After making an off-the-cuff remark about rabbits bringing him good luck, Smith has found that he is sent between 10 and 20 rabbitthemed gifts from around the world every week.
4. The rent on Paul Smith’s first boutique in Nottingham, Paul Smith Vêtement Pour Homme, was 50p a week. The shop was scented with Christian Dior Eau Sauvage to mask the smell of his Afghan hound.
5. I n 2001, in recognition of his long-standing love of the comic, The Beano featured Paul Smith as a designer visiting the Bash Street School and lecturing the kids in Class 2B.
6. In 1976, Smith needed £30,000 to buy his first premises on Floral Street in Covent Garden from a retired baker. His bank manager at Barclays wouldn’t lend him anything – ‘he didn’t like the fact that I had long hair and a red scarf.’ But he scraped together £20,000 and the baker let him have it for £25,000.
*Sorry reader, but while Paul Smith does indeed love The Beano, he has not featured in an episode of The Bash Street Kids.
1. The knighthood given to Paul Smith was only the second ever given to a designer, the first being the Queen’s dressmaker, Hardy Amies.
55