At the age of 16, with no career plans or qualifications, Paul Smith T-Shirts was propelled by his father into a menial job at the local clothing warehouse in his native Nottingham. Within two years, Paul Smith was managing his first boutique in Nottingham and with the encouragement of his girlfriend Pauline Denyer (now wife) and a small amount of savings, opened a tiny shop in 1970. Paul started to take evening classes for tailoring and with the help of Pauline (an RCA fashion graduate), Paul was able to create what he wanted. By 1976 Paul showed his first menswear collection in Paris under the Paul Smith label.

Within 20 years of his introduction to fashion Paul Smith had established himself as the pre-eminent British designer. Paul Smith Trainers has the ability to anticipate, and even spark off trends not only fashion but in the wider context of popular culture. He manages to transmit a genuine sense of humour and mischief mixed with his love of tradition and the classics. Now he has 14 shops in the UK alone and over 200 throughout Japan! He really is a global designer now who creates classic high quality clothes that transcend time, language and continents.