Sir Paul Smith wants to "redefine" the suit.
Paul Smith says suits are making a comeback
The 77-year-old fashion designer - who launched his eponymous menswear label in 1970 - dismissed suggestions two-pieces have fallen out of fashion in favour of a more casual attire, and insisted there are many different ways of styling suits to stay modern.
He told The Sunday Times Style magazine: "Tailoring is coming back strongly.
"My recent show in Paris was about redefining the suit. A suit today can have soft construction. It can have shoulder pads or no pads and drawstring trousers and be worn with a polo shirt and sneakers.”
And the designer isn't a fan of casual footwear such as trainers.
Indicating his own brown brogues, he said: “I’m a fan of classic shoes."
Paul doesn't have an email address and bans screens from his meetings, and he believes designers these days spend too much time following social media-driven trends, rather than breaking away to have their own influence.
He said: “It’s the same kinds of collections in the same kinds of shops. It’s extraordinarily disappointing that everybody is willing to be so similar.”
Paul hopes his screen ban will help bring back the “power of observation” and spark some creativity.
He said: “I tell the team a story about something I’ve seen. I show them a book and say, ‘Look at the colours? Look at that turquoise next to that blue. Let’s use that as a colour reference.’ I want them not just to look but to see — see something different in the real world, something you cannot find anywhere else.”
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