Paul Smith's Milan debut collection inspired by old Egyptian souvenir book
Iconic fashion designer Paul Smith has told how his S/S 2026 collection, which was unveiled at Milan Fashion Week last weekend, was inspired by an old Egyptian souvenir book from a holiday with his wife, Pauline.
Paul Smith's latest collection was inspired by an old Egyptian souvenir book from a holiday with his wife.
The 78-year-old fashion designer's S/S 2026 collection was unveiled at Milan Fashion Week last weekend, the brand's first show in the Italian city in its 54-year history.
Paul has told how the collection came about, revealing one of his staff recently pulled out his old Cairo souvenir book - which is from a holiday with his significant other, Pauline, to see the Egyptian pyramids - "to look at it", and he loved the "lovely colours".
Speaking to Wallpaper*, he said: "One of the girls [in the office] must have pulled it out to look at it and as soon as I saw it, I thought it would be a great starting point for this show.
"Look at all these lovely colours and then look at my colours; we’ve got the green, the blue, the red, the yellow, the pink! This show is all about the colours you see when you travel."
Following the discovery of his Egypt souvenir book, Smith has urged people not to "dismiss the past" when it comes to fashion.
He said: "Quite a lot of the clothes have got quite an old feeling to them, which is interesting.
"Don’t just always dismiss the past, you know, because so so much [present-day life] is about what's next, what’s next, what’s next."
Despite the brand only making its Milan Fashion Week debut last weekend, because Paul wanted to remain "loyal" to Paris, he has owned a house in Italy since the 1990s.
He added: "I’ve always shown in Paris because when I started [in 1970], it was the only place I could hold a show and so I’ve always been loyal.
"But we are very good friends with [this] country.
"There’s a positive spirit and it’s [the home of] the bella figura, right? They work to live rather than live to work. Which is a big difference here."
