Sir Paul Smith draws inspiration from anything and everything

6 April 2013

A packed audience of business associates, alumni, students, staff and members of the local community were treated to an inspirational talk from global fashion icon Sir Paul Smith at the recent Business Leaders Series event hosted by Nottingham University Business School (NUBS).

In addition to providing valuable networking opportunities for people from the University and local business communities, the Business Leaders Series aims to bring high profile speakers to Nottingham University Business School to offer unique and inspiring insights into the careers and experiences of leaders in their fields. Sir Paul’s visit follows in the wake of an illustrious cast of guest speakers over the past few years including Andy Hornby, Chief Executive of Coral; Stephen Rowlinson, CEO of Penna Consulting; Alex Gourlay, Chief Executive of Health and Beauty at Alliance Boots; and Willie Walsh, CEO of International Airlines Group.

In his talk, entitled ‘Things to think about’, Nottingham native Sir Paul chartered his career from leaving school at 16 with no qualifications or specific career plans - other than wanting to become a racing cyclist, a dream that was swiftly and cruelly dashed following a bad accident – to now running a global fashion empire worth over £350 million with more than 200 stores in 35 countries. He explained how conversations with local art college students inspired his interest in style, colour and fashion. This ultimately led to a job managing a boutique and eventually opening his own small clothes shop, or ‘room’, as Sir Paul ironically described the 12 feet square space he rented in Nottingham city centre.

Despite these humble beginnings, and a strong belief in growing his business from its own resources rather than rely on external debt, Sir Paul has demonstrated the key role innovation and creativity play in achieving sustainable commercial and critical success. He continually refers to himself as a ‘Designer’ and avoids the entrepreneur label others place on him, yet his business philosophy based on lateral thinking and finding a balance is refreshingly simple and owes as much to an insightful and shrewd commercial mind as it does to his creative spirit. He continues to play an active part in the company, taking a particular interest in designing the clothes and approving shop locations.

The themes of enterprise, innovation and ethical responsibility chime well with Nottingham University Business School’s own mission to enhance business and management knowledge and practice in an innovative, responsible, and sustainable way.

Sir Paul is passionate about drawing inspiration from anything and everything, a belief reinforced by some of his most iconic clothing i.e. a blue suit based on a Chinese military uniform, stripy knitwear inspired by coastal beach huts and photographic t-shirts derived from Italian bus advertising. Individualism is also an important influence on his work and way of thinking. This is clearly evident in his legendary use of colour, for which he credits the inspiration of artists such as Matisse and Kandinsky, and in his shops, which are all different and uniquely individual. As he maintains ‘You need to make room to break the rules’.

In addition to clothes, his shops have also always featured quirky objects and items in which he has a personal interest. Similarly, unusual and humorous window displays have become a hallmark of the Paul Smith brand. However, what may be fleetingly interpreted as idiosyncratic British eccentricity is also rooted in an astute appreciation of shifting customer trends and market dynamics. His clothes may feature bold colours and patterns but they are tailored to classic designs. Equally, many of the objects and items are now sold in-store providing a healthy supplementary income stream including gifts; artwork; china; fragrances; books; and even stationery.

The Paul Smith ‘distinctiveness’ maxim is as uplifting, in an era characterised by corporate homogeneity and indistinguishable retail clones, as it is commercially successful. As Sir Paul himself reasoned ‘There is already too much stuff in the world. Nobody actually needs another restaurant or another shop. The trick is to do something different, to look and see things in different ways’.

View/download photographs of the Sir Paul Smith talk from our Facebook site