Back to the '60s: Paul Smith presents his SS2025 collection at Pitti Uomo

This season, Sir Paul Smith is back in Florence, where he presented his eye-catching designs, inspired by London of the '60s and his favourite art icons and fellow Soho stalwarts Francis Bacon and Lucien Freud. Signature stripes, unstructured blazers in cotton canvas, suits from Prince of Wales fabrics, and a collaboration with a denim expert Lee.

Sir Paul Smith has a special relationship with Florence. The British designer was the first one ever to show at Pitti Uomo’s historic Stazione Leopolda back in 1993. Now, 31 years later he is back in Tuscany with a special presentation at Villa Favard, a gorgeously ornate 19th-century villa in the heart of Florence, home to Polimoda fashion school (the designer gave an inspiring talk there later this week). He turned it into “Bar Paul” with branded coffee cups and matchboxes: a tribute to the Italian cafes, typically opened all night, that Paul frequented in Soho in the 1960s.

The designer wanted his Florentin showing to be more intimate than a regular fashion show. Sir Paul Smith took time to explain the collection to journalists and buyers look by look during a special preview, where the guests were sitting on Artek signature stools, surrounded by arts and crafts objects by Winsor & Newton. It felt like a real theatre performance, and even the usually “unimpressed and seen-it-all” fashion veterans were smiling as kids, taking videos for souvenirs. Later at the cocktail in the garden, Sir Paul Smith was chatting, laughing and taking selfies with his guests.

The collection was filled with references to the ‘60s, and Sir Paul Smith’s youth when he used to hang out in Soho with her fellow stalwarts Francis Bacon and Lucien Freud - suits cut from classic houndstooth and Prince of Wales fabrics, painter’s loose trousers, oversized trenchcoats with checked motifs, shirts with bright patterns and unstructured blazers in cotton canvas. There was also an array of denim looks, made in collaboration with the US denim expert Lee. As with everything in the world of Paul Smith, it’s much more than just a simple fashion collaboration: actually, back in the days, when the designer owned his own shop in Nottingham in the 70s he was importing painter pants by Lee, which were one of his bestsellers.  

Courtesy: Paul Smith

Text: Lidia Ageeva