Sir Paul Smith Catch-Up - National Treasure Nominations, Man Utd, and Paul Weller
Manchester United, as always, refuses to be outdone! When Champions’ League opponents, Chelsea, were kitted out by Giorgio Armani, Alex Ferguson turned to British designer and master tailor, Sir Paul Smith to design formal suits and accessories for the club for the next three years. Fergie is over the moon with the results, saying the navy, 100% mohair, 2 button suits, were the envy of all other clubs – who could he be having a dig at? (The 6-5 on penalties victory in Moscow was just the icing on the cake)!
Sir Paul has been excited about the partnership, hoping it will improve his chances of getting hold of match tickets! The outfits, to be worn by players and club staff, to and from matches, and for pre-season tours include; the suits with a specially designed lining (red panels with striped piping) and club crest on the top pocket, an exclusive tie with diagonal stripes, a special belt with the crest on the inside tip, brown brogue shoes, a white shirt, a simple black raincoat and luggage in the famous Paul Smith stripes. A separate grey, mohair suit, pale blue shirt and striped tie were designed especially for the Moscow trip.
Early last month, in his Floral Street Boutique, London, Sir Paul hosted a launch party for Paul Weller’s new book – A Thousand Things. The party decorations included a Rickenbacker 330 guitar, copies of the book, album covers, prints and NME Articles from the good old Jam days.
The book is a visual history of the singer/songwriter’s 30 year career. It is personally autographed and, includes, a vinyl record of never before released tracks. There are just 2000 copies of the book worldwide and before you get your wallet out, we need to warn you, it’ll set you back £250 and that’s if you can get your hands on a copy! Don’t worry though, if you’re a fan, but fancy spending a bit less, Weller has recently released his 9th Solo album – 22 Dreams.
As if all of the above and a £300 million pound business isn’t enough, last Friday (4th July), Paul Smith was nominated as a national treasure - part of a campaign run by the British Library and Sunday Telegraph. So why not vote for him, (after all, he is the guy responsible for putting the boxer shorts into your underwear draw, and the filo-fax into your man bag).
