Designer style: Sir Paul Smith talks favourite London markets, secret shops and interiors trends to watch

Designer Sir Paul Smith gives us the lowdown on his latest projects and favourite London shops.
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Kate Gordon7 November 2018

British fashion designer Sir Paul Smith has just opened his latest shop at Coal Drops Yard, part of the King’s Cross regeneration.

Born and raised in Nottingham, from where all trains to London arrived at King’s Cross, Sir Paul, 72, was familiar with the station and its surroundings long before its transformation.

“In a way it looked then very much like Covent Garden did when I opened my first London shop there in 1972,” he says. “The vegetable market had closed seven years previously and so it was vast and empty but had the potential to be amazing. King’s Cross felt the same. The architect at Coal Drops Yard, Thomas Heatherwick, is a mate of mine. He has respected the original space but given modern elements to it. I identify with that — classic with a twist.”

WHERE I LIVE

Holland Park is where I’ve called home for many years now. It often feels like a little village within London. There are great parks right on the doorstep and we’re close to Portobello Road market, which is one of my favourite markets in the world.

MY LATEST PROJECT

Every day is different and involves lots of plate-spinning. I’m involved in every aspect of the business — finance meetings, shop design, marketing and the collections. Right now, we’re planning shops in Berlin and Copenhagen, designing our spring/summer ’19 collections, continuing with my touring show Hello, My Name Is Paul Smith, which has travelled through London, Belgium, Japan and Taiwan and is now in Shanghai. Oh, and of course remembering to breathe…

New shop: at Coal Drops Yard, part of the King’s Cross regeneration

MOST TREASURED POSSESSION

My wife and I have been keeping photograph albums from right back to when we first met, more than one a year so it’s quite a collection.

SECRET SHOP

I really love a visit to Arthur Beale the yacht chandlers (Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2). I’m no sailor, but it’s such an unexpected place, slap-bang in the middle of the city selling all sorts of specialised stuff for boats. I’ve bought amazing aluminium clips from there that I’ve used as a keyring hanging off my belt loop, or lengths of rope that I’ve used as inspiration for bag handles.

Secret shop: improbably located in Shaftesbury Avenue, yacht chandlers Arthur Beale, where Sir Paul finds design inspiration
Rii Schroer / eyevine

MY DREAM LONDON HOME

I’m quite happy where I am, thank you! Without my wife, Pauline, I wouldn’t have had any of the success I have had. Living in Nottingham, I moved in with Pauline when I was in my twenties. As someone who travels more or less every week to different countries around the world, it’s important to return to our home.

Pauline and I have always been interested in making our home personal to us and special. I like my home to have an eclectic mix of modern and traditional. It’s filled with prints, paintings and photography from various times.

THE NEXT DESIGN TREND?

I’m not a follower of trends. I have noticed, though, that there is a movement away from the more minimal design that has become commonplace in recent years. People seem to want more pattern, more texture, more colour — all the things that Paul Smith is known for. For example, Chinoiserie is certainly back.

China blue: Chinoiserie as a design trend is making a comeback, notes Sir Paul Smith
Alamy Stock Photo

RECENT ART PURCHASE

A pen-and-ink drawing of an acrobat by Dame Laura Knight (1877-1970). I have a real appreciation of the true skill of someone who can draw something so true to life with just a pencil. Dame Laura Knight is a perfect example.

BEST LONDON LANDMARK

From the roof of my studio in Covent Garden there’s a fantastic view of Civil Aviation Authority House which was designed in the Sixties. It uses the same concrete cross frame as Centre Point.

Loved London landmark: Sixties-designed cylindrical Civil Aviation Authority House, aka One Kemble Street, WC2
Alamy Stock Photo

FAVOURITE MUSEUM

Sir John Soane’s Museum (Lincoln’s Inn Fields, WC2) is a fantastic example of how to build light and space into a home. It has incredible, flexible space with walls that move and panels that slide open. As a traveller he collected a wild mix of objects and artefacts.

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