A Look Inside Bar Paul
Our recent Pitti presentation transformed Florence’s historic Villa Favard into ‘Bar Paul’ – a loving recreation of the Italian late-night cafes Paul frequented in Soho in the 1960s. Join us as we have a look around.
On 11th June, Paul Smith appeared at Pitti Uomo in Florence, for the first time in more than 30 years. We were there to present the designs for our forthcoming Spring/Summer 2025 season – a collection which sees louche tailoring mixed and matched with worn-in, utilitarian workwear. The starting point for the collection was Paul’s memories of time spent in Soho in the ‘60s, a particularly vibrant period for the infamous West End neighbourhood. Artists, musicians, and designers flocked to the area, gathering at clubs such as the Scene, the Flamingo, and Whiskey-A-Go-Go. Then, when these had shut for the evening, it was onto the nearby Italian cafes that stayed open until morning.
For our return to Pitti Uomo, we transformed the historic Villa Favard on the banks of the Arno into Bar Paul, a loving recreation of those classic Soho cafes, complete with aluminium tables and chairs, branded coffee cups, napkins, and matchboxes. It was a fun juxtaposition to place mundane, everyday items like these in the spectacularly ornate interior of Villa Favard – a playful touch which felt perfectly Paul Smith.
The collection takes inspiration from artists such as Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud, particularly how the latter mixed fine tailoring with painty work clothes. We wanted to reflect this painterly influence from the collection back into the show space, and so we furnished it with easels displaying caricatures by a local artist, alongside art supplies kindly provided by Winsor & Newton. Furniture came courtesy of legendary Finnish design house, Artek.
Mounting a presentation rather than a traditional catwalk show gave us the opportunity to create a different kind of environment in which to debut our new collection. Enjoy a look around Bar Paul.
Discover More
Shows
Spring/Summer ’25 Men's Show
The collection made its debut at Pitti Uomo in Florence, at the historic Villa Favard, which we temporarily transformed into Bar Paul – a loving recreation of the all-night Italian cafes which Paul frequented in his own ‘60s Soho days.
06.24
Collaborations
Coming Soon: Paul Smith + Lee
Bringing things full circle from the early days, we are excited to announce an upcoming collaboration with Lee.
06.24
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