Paul Smith, still at the top of fashion at 80: ‘I dress very famous people, but I think of them as ordinary people’

At 80, Paul Smith remains closely involved in his fashion business, still serving customers at his Mayfair shop despite his international reputation. In a new memoir, he hopes to show younger designers that a career can be built through hard work, curiosity, conviction and steady attention to quality rather than a rush for fame.

Smith left school at 15 in Nottingham and turned to fashion after a cycling accident ended his sporting ambitions. His wife, Pauline Denyer, whom he met in 1967, helped raise the quality of his designs, while his signature style combines British traditions with unexpected colour and careful craftsmanship. He says he treats famous clients as ordinary people and values the human contact of meeting customers.