Paul Smith Men’s Fall 2024
“People want clothes that work,” said Paul Smith, who put his fall collection to work, and created timeless, versatile pieces in an offbeat color palette inspired by his visits to Yves Saint Laurent’s homes in Paris and Morocco.
Smith said this no-logo luxury moment has been playing in his favor. “It’s our time — finally. We’ve only been waiting 108 years,” said the designer, adding that his velvet jackets for men have proven particularly popular with women buying for themselves. In response, Smith picked a handful of women to walk in the show.
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He described the fall collection as “a wardrobe of pieces” that can be swapped around and layered in all different ways. He mixed his signature soft tailoring with warming, practical outerwear and knits — and it looked more relevant than ever.
Smith’s chocolate patchwork shearling coat and padded gilets slipped over tailored wool jackets looked especially fine on a day when Paris woke up to below-freezing temperatures and icy streets.
The color palette, which took in aubergine, moss green, chartreuse and olive, was drawn from the walls, floors and windowsills chez Saint Laurent. Smith said he and his wife Pauline had visited the designer’s homes, and were struck by the aesthetic contrasts they saw.
He worked those unusual shades into tone-on-tone suits and coats with contrasting linings, and into fuzzy sweaters with abstract patterns and nubby, textured scarves.
Even the outerwear was drenched in those offbeat shades. A long, lean trench came with a leaf pattern in a shade of bleached-out olive. The shiny, technical coat that closed the show was citrine, and had a fuzzy aubergine collar — a combo guaranteed to radiate warmth on a wet winter’s day.
Launch Gallery: Paul Smith Men's Fall 2024
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