Paul Smith Spring/Summer 2018 Campaign

Paul Smith pays tribute to Tokyo’s world famous Tsukiji Market before it leaves its historic home with a series of colourful fish graphics in his spring/summer ’18 collection.

Supervised by the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market of the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Industrial and Labor Affairs, is the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world and also one of the largest wholesale food markets of any kind.

The market is located in Tsukiji in central Tokyo, between the Sumida River and the upmarket Ginzashopping district. While the inner wholesale market has restricted access to visitors, the outer retail market, restaurants, and associated restaurant supply stores remain a major tourist attraction for both domestic and overseas visitors.

Paul Smith looks to the ocean for spring/summer ’18 with a unique new campaign featuring Malgosia Bela and Ben Allen.

The warm summer mood of the collection is continued with shoes and accessories, as technical sandals, deck chair striped beach bags and printed espadrilles keep things beside the seaside. For women, the Ocean print also finds its way onto dresses, skirts and tops on either a yellow, red or blue base. Further florals are added by a reversed Floral Bloom print, which is a softer, washed-out take on a floral motif and is available as a tailored trouser and jacket set.

The new campaign transports the collection to the South of France where neon signs, sandy beaches and the occasional lobster combine in images that capture Paul Smith’s sense of the unexpected.

When colour is used it’s usually to pick out the Ocean print, which is the key motif for the season. The print is Paul’s take on a classic Hawaiian shirt design, which he has fashioned from a vibrant mixture of hand-drawn florals, corals and Japanese koi carp.

For men, the Ocean print is used to give a new twist on a traditional field jacket and on summer shirts with Cuban collars, while elements from the print have been used as solo graphics on knitwear.