Keeping it Real

Sir Paul Smith sat down with Tatler during his first visit to Hong Kong in five years, to promote his latest collaboration with the emerging fashion brand Commission. He shared his vision on mentoring upcoming designers and explained why it is important to design real clothes for real people

- Ahy Choi

Playful and expressive, Sir Paul Smith's design philosophy requires no further elaboration. The designer has long nurtured emerging fashion creatives, and in recent years has done so in a more formal way. In 2020, he established Paul Smith's Foundation, an organisation set up to offer advice to those in creative industries and offering long-term mentorships to young designers striving to build sustainable business models. These mentorships have given birth to a collaboration under the name "&PaulSmith", fostering not only creative exchange but also a shared focus on craftsmanship and culture.

Smith set out to support one designer each year for the programme, and worked closely with institutions such as the British Fashion Council to identify emerging talents. This year, he also joined forces with The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), which provided a shortlist of emerging American fashion designers to collaborate with, and he landed on rising US brand Commission.

Following the recent release of Commission &PaulSmith, Smith shares the delight he feels when collaborating with young designers, emphasises the importance of ongoing mentorship, and explains why the art of tailoring remains as relevant as ever.

What was it about Commission that prompted you to collaborate on the latest &PaulSmith collection?