Sir Paul Smith has been steering his women’s wear in a more modernist and arty direction recently, and he ramped up that effort for spring, parading juicy colors, graphic prints and languid shapes at the Serpentine Gallery.
“Lots of my young customers are architects, graphic designers, photographers, and so we’ve started to attract a lot more creative customers,” the designer said backstage. “It’s for an independent girl.”
The engineered, silk-screened prints – melding TV static speckles with bold bands of color – gave a graphic energy to this dress-heavy collection, most of them cut on the bias in heavy fabrics with a handsome drape. Smith used simple, generous T-shirts, smock and caftan shapes as a canvas for his offbeat prints. Sturdy silks were also employed for minimalist trenchcoats and cool A-line skirts.
Like Celine’s Phoebe Philo, Smith is offering daywear with personality, such as meaty culottes in vivid orange jersey or space-dyed knit, or boyish pants with thick, crisscross suspenders — a detail that’s popped up on several London runways.