Milan, January 16, 2025 — This January marks the first menswear fashion week in Milan without Giorgio Armani, who died at age 91 in September. Despite the absence of the iconic designer, the Armani brand will still present a show on Monday, joining fellow industry veterans Ralph Lauren, 86, and Paul Smith, who will turn 80 this year.
Smith Stages a Playful Return to Salon Shows
Paul Smith’s Milan show harkened back to the intimate presentations of the 1970s, blending archive pieces with fresh designs.
- Paul Smith showcased his collection Saturday evening at the brand’s Italian headquarters.
- The show featured a playful format with Smith himself acting as compère.
- The collection drew inspiration from the brand’s extensive archive, reworking designs from as early as 1982.
- Despite a 7% turnover decrease in 2024, Smith remains optimistic about the brand’s future.
Paul Smith presented his collection Saturday evening at the brand’s Italian HQ. The presentation wasn’t just about the clothes; it was a performance. Smith himself took to the microphone, playfully describing the designs and their inspirations, a nod to the intimate salon shows he witnessed at Coco Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent in the 1970s.
The clothes themselves stayed true to the hallmarks that define the Paul Smith aesthetic: bold prints, expertly tailored (and now oversized) suiting, and vibrant colors splashed across sweaters and shirts. This marks the second time Smith has showcased his menswear collection in Milan. He explained the compère format was a deliberate homage to the shows he attended as a young designer.
“I really wanted to do a salon show,” Smith said. “Because we’re still an independent company, and I still own it, it’s so personal in today’s corporate world, I think it’s really interesting.”
The collection’s creation was a collaborative effort, drawing heavily on the work of new design director Sam Cotton, who unearthed 5,000 designs from the Paul Smith archive. “They come back and they go: ‘Look at this,’” Smith recounted. “I say: ‘I did that in 1982.’ ‘Yeah, but it’s bloody marvellous.’ And then we rework it.”
Among the “bloody marvellous” pieces revisited on Saturday was a jacket originally featured in a 1999 collection, and a rust-colored grandad shirt that Smith confessed to dyeing “on a gas cooker in a saucepan.”
Blending a fresh perspective with the brand’s history is a strategic move to attract new customers, especially considering Paul Smith began in 1970. Yet, Smith remains firmly in control. “I get there at six every morning, I’m still completely involved. Nothing’s changed.”
Navigating a Slowdown in Luxury
Like many luxury brands, Paul Smith has experienced a post-pandemic slowdown, with turnover declining by 7% in 2024. Smith acknowledged that the current financial outlook isn’t promising. “Our results this year won’t be very good at all,” he stated. “But we’re here and we’re working it out, and we’re going to be fine.”
Ralph Lauren, in contrast, is thriving, fueled in part by the resurgence of preppy style, a look the brand has essentially defined over its nearly 60-year history. Sales increased by 11% in the first quarter of 2025, and “Ralph Lauren Christmas” became a trending topic during the holiday season.
Friday evening’s show, which combined the Polo and Purple Label lines, was a celebration of the stylistic details that have driven the brand’s success since its inception in 1967. Ralph Lauren himself did not attend, but his son David was present, alongside celebrities Tom Hiddleston, Colman Domingo, and Noah Schnapp, at the show held in a palazzo Lauren purchased in 1999.
The collection showcased clothing tailored to the lifestyle of a classic American upper class—an archetype now synonymous with the Ralph Lauren brand. The offerings ranged from fleeces, sweatshirts, and rugby shirts for casual weekends to suits for the office and opera, and even puffer jackets and boots for ski trips.
Reinforcing this commitment to the brand’s core aesthetic, Ralph Lauren will also be dressing Team USA for the Winter Olympics in February.
