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Tailor-made in Leeds
ON our arrival at his gleaming new store we find him on tiptoe busily stacking precisely folded shirts on a rather high shelf.
It isn't just that Sir Paul – arguably one of the greatest British designers of all time – is more than willing to muck in with the rest of the staff, plenty of whom are milling around and capable of stacking at the snap of his fingers.
No, this aesthete wants to personally make sure everything is flawless, ready for this week's official launch of his three-storey shop in the Victoria Quarter.
"It's like moving into a new flat." he laughs. "You want it all just right – rearranging stuff, moving a picture here, a piece of furniture there."
It's obvious from watching this 61-year-old legend of design that he can still barely contain his excitement at opening the latest in a global network of stores.
Empire
Recent unveilings include Johannesburg, Istanbul and St Petersburg and he's just jetted in from San Francisco, the latest outpost earmarked for the empire.
The irony of leaving sunny California for the bleaker surroundings of Yorkshire isn't lost on him, nor is the addition of somewhere like Leeds to a portfolio which includes virtually every international capital on the planet.
"It does sound like a bit of a joke doesn't it?" he playfully admits. "Paul Smith: New York, London, Paris, LEEDS!
"But don't get me wrong I'm absolutely delighted to be here. I have a great deal of genuine affection for the place."
Interestingly many a famous interview subject now professes to loving Leeds, though it's usually an ingratiating gesture and one made solely on the basis of a few nights out or the occasional shopping trip.
But with Sir Paul it's genuine.
Although he was born and raised in Nottingham – where he left school unqualified at 15 and had his dreams of becoming a cyclist ruined by a terrible accident – it was Leeds which would kick start his career as a designer.
Smith was originally pushed into the industry by his father Harold who made him take a menial job in a local clothing warehouse. But by the 1970s he was slowly building up his own menswear business.
And that required him to spend years travelling in and out of Leeds because 30 years ago it was still the tailoring capital of the UK. If you wanted the best cloth-cutters and seamstresses this was the place to visit.
And so began a long relationship with Atkinson Rhodes Ltd, a renowned textile factory on New York Street run by Dr Harry Beckhough.
"He's such a lovely man." recalls Sir Paul. "He's 94 now and has moved away from Leeds but he still writes me long, fantastic letters. In fact I'm taking him for lunch in a few weeks time.
"I owe him a lot really because back then I was just starting out and basically I had no money, no real business but he was very patient and helpful to me.
"I remember working during the three-day week and there I was in this huge factory with just one fluorescent light over a cutting table.
"And I have quite vivid recollections of the city to this day. I recall we used to pop round the corner from the factory into Kirkgate Market for our lunch and I can still hear all the noise of the fruit and veg sellers shouting across the main hall.
"So I have many, many memories of Leeds and a real fondness for the place – though I don't fondly recall all the travelling we used to do up and down the M1 from Nottingham – but it's still a delight to be back."
It wasn't just Atkinson Rhodes who helped young Smith on the route to sartorial fame and fortune.
Flagship outlet
He also enlisted the skills of another Leeds textile firm, Berwins, as well as a Wakefield shirt manufacturer and numerous local mills which supplied him with fabric, and still do.
By complete coincidence it was also Yorkshire Bank which leant him 10,000 to help purchase his first major store in Covent Garden.
Three decades later and attracting a name like Paul Smith is a particular coup for Leeds because, while some shops in other cities may stock some of his lines, this flagship outlet carries everything from menswear and womenswear to interiors as well as a whole array of gifts and accessories.
The designer's selective criteria means that the only stores like it are in London and his native Nottingham.
Sir Paul said: "When we open new shops we want them to be in places like Leeds, cities with individuality and character. We're very selective because I loathe the idea of corporate rollout – I'm not Starbucks.
"A lot of companies just look at a map and say ok we'll open in Newcastle, then Manchester, then here, then here. I don't do that.
"It's about being selective and discerning and Leeds has come on so much in recent years, with new developments and businesses.
"And we always like distinctive buildings and units, so the Victoria Quarter is just perfect for that. Funnily enough I remember Leeds in the days when the Victoria Quarter as it is now hadn't even been created.
"But one of my team came up to check the place out a year or two ago and when he came back he said: 'Paul, you're going to love this." and I did. I'm very happy with the new store."
Sir Paul is particularly heartened by his Leeds visit because he's had confirmed the long-held belief that provincial cities boast their own unique brand of style and consciousness.
"It's very similar to Nottingham actually." he said. "That's one of the few other stores I have which isn't based in your conventional 'international' location. They're both very cool, vibrant university cities and it really shows.
"You can tell the difference, the awareness just from talking to people in the store. They're really into their fashion, they know about British culture and Paul Smith as a company, which I find very humbling.
"You don't necessarily get that to the same degree in big locations. There, to a lot of people, we're just another designer name and that's why it's so wonderful to be in a city like Leeds."
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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