Design Museum Revisited

Today we visited the Design Museum, in order to buy a Christmas present for a grandchild, and also to visit the 'Hello, My Name is Paul Smith exhibition', for which I had a return ticket. 

Paul Smith left school at 15, and worked in a clothes shop.   After a cycling accident, which resulted in him being hospitalised for six months, he became interested in fashion designing.   He opened his first very small shop for two days a week in Nottingham in 1970.   Now he is a top London based fashion designer, who has numerous shops around the world.

The exhibition took visitors on a journey through Paul Smith's world, a recreation of his office, his design studio, some of his work, and a film based on a day in the life of a fashion show.

The wall of buttons.    You will be impressed with this Kylie!

 A close up of part of the wall of buttons.   They were attached to the wall with double sided tape, so easily dismantled.   But such precision work!  It must have taken ages to create, and although there were no obvious patterns, there were was much lightness and darkness.

 A lineup of Paul Smith's array of brilliantly designed clothes.

 And more on the other side of the room.   Paul Smith derives his ideas and inspiration for design from the world around him.

 He collects prints, hundreds of them, and has done since he was a teenager.

 A recreation of Paul Smith's design study.

 A recreation of Paul Smith's office, with some examples of his huge collection of books, toys, ephemera, art, silly things, serious things, gadgets, children's drawings, photographs and general stuff.   He also has quite a collection of bicycles.

A very remarkable exhibition.    And a must for any young design student to visit, as it certainly emphasizes the importance of looking beyond the immediate scene or object.   I can imagine that Paul Smith's world, and his designs, were appreciated by all that visited, us included.   I suspect the price tag for his clothes may be a tad too expensive for most of us though.   

Sadly the object that I was going to buy for a Christmas present was no longer available, but luckily I have been able to get something similar online, at a cheaper price too.