Enter the mind of world-class designer Paul Smith

After having toured in cities such as Los Angeles, Tokyo, and recently, Hong Kong, the highly anticipated fashion and art exhibition “Hello, My Name Is Paul Smith” finally landed in Shanghai on October 10th. Paul Smith is an internationally renowned fashion designer known for his classic and formal silhouettes that are donned with colorful prints and patterns. The exhibition is meant to serve as an insightful lens into Smith’s career in design through countless art forms such as photography, installations, and fashion.

Paul Smith takes you into his world of creativity by meticulously crafting each aspect of this exhibition. “The first shop”, a small room that the audience enters initially, is modeled after Paul Smith’s first studio space — a 3 by 3 meter room that first opened in 1970. Later, the audience is invited to take a look at his collection of curious objects such as those he has gathered from his travels and his career over the years. Smith also showcases the numerous collaborations he has done and interesting aspects of the career such as “a day in the life of a fashion show”.

One of the biggest reasons why there has been so much hype surrounding this exhibition is because of its “Instagram-worthy” aesthetic. Yaya Yu (12C) noted that she had “seen many people taking pictures with the pink lamp and wallpaper”, and described the exhibition as “really energetic and unique”. The exhibition is expected to showcase a total of 42 outfits, 540 framed works, as well as displays on over 20 HD screens. However, the most engaging portion of the exhibition is apparently the famous “button wall”. The wall is comprised of roughly 70,000 colorful buttons that are tightly compacted together in a representation and celebration of “individuality”, according to Smith.

As said by the man himself, this elaborate exhibition is “all about encouragement”. Indeed, the exhibition attenders’ journey from the tiny studio where the brand was first born, to replicas of Smith’s offices and showrooms throughout his career and other creative bits and pieces seems to show us no other than the extent to which the designer has grown from his humble beginnings.

Whether you plan to go for the bold and captivating art or the hundreds of Instagram pictures that you will be leaving with, it’s a good idea to pay a visit to the Modern Art Museum and catch “Hello, My Name is Paul Smith”.

Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons