Monkey See, Monkey Do

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Monkey See, Monkey Do

07 July 2017

Monkey See, Monkey Do

A self-confessed hoarder, Paul Smith is also a great collector of ‘things’. His Covent Garden office is full of books, wooden animals, Japanese robots, paintings, sports memorabilia and, somewhat incongruously, rabbits.

“I once made a remark about them bringing me good luck,” says Smith, “now I get sent between 10 and 20 a week. I was even presented with a real, live one seconds before the start of a Paris fashion show – one of life’s more surreal moments.”

He even has a basement room, known as the Department of Silly, the repository of innumerable eclectic items, many sent to him by fans. Not that he minds, “I love it that fans have caught on to my kooky sense of humour, although the sheer volume of items I receive is astounding. One anonymous individual has sent me a gift every month for the past 20 years, ranging from a toy car and a skateboard, to a wheelbarrow, a pair of Incredible Hulk hands and a traffic cone.”

He is, in essence, the contemporary equivalent of the gentleman collectors of the past, who travelled the world to gather items for their cabinets of curiosities. And it is they who have inspired Smith’s latest print collection, Monkey, which leaps between shirts, socks and leather accessories.

Paul Smith
16, The Royal Arcade
W1S 4SR
Tel: 0203 205 1135
www.paulsmith.co.uk

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