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Hello, My Name is Paul Smith (Touring)

Start Date 15 November 2013
End Date 09 March 2014
Venue The Design Museum
Location London, UK
Curator Donna Loveday
Designer Richard Greenwood Partnership
Exhibition display of dressed mannequins

From his company’s modest beginnings in Nottingham to its international prominence today, this exhibition reveals how Paul Smith’s intuitive take on design, together with an understanding of the roles of designer and retailer, have laid the foundations for lasting success and offers a unique insight into the magnificent mind of Paul Smith.

What’s in the exhibition?

Made up of over 1500 objects which span the British designer’s vast career, the exhibition focuses on a series of key themes and objects that have defined the history of Paul Smith.

Different stages of the design and production process are explored, offering a rich insight into Paul’s design practice while highlighting how the principles of traditional craftsmanship and tailoring are given a contemporary edge.

Paul Smith’s first shop in Byard Lane, Nottingham, which measured 3m x 3m, is recreated in the exhibition alongside an immersive digital room filled with still and moving images that aim to capture Paul’s process of inspiration.

The exhibition goes on to explore Paul Smith’s unique shop designs: from a shocking pink building set on Melrose Avenue, LA to an ironclad flagship in the heart of London’s Mayfair. It details the key things, people and places that have sparked Paul’s creativity throughout his career. A focus of the exhibition is a 1:1 replica of Paul’s office – a space packed full of books, bikes, acquired objects from travels and gifts from those who visit.

Design Museum, London
9 March – 15 September 2013

Modemuseum Hasselt, Belgium 30 January – 16 August 2015

The Lighthouse, Glasgow 21 January – 20 March 2016
National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto 6 June – 18 July 2016
Ueno-Mori Royal Museum, Tokyo 26 July – 24 August 2016
Matsuzakaya Museum, Nagoya 10 September – 16 October 2016
Huashan 1914 Creative Park, Taipei 17 June – 2 September 2017
Modern Art Museum (MAM), Shanghai 10 October 2017 – 7 January 2018
Today Art Museum, Beijing 8 June – 7 October 2018
Shenzhen Bay Art Centre 7 December 2018 – 15 April 2019
Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul 6 June – 25 August 2019
Nottingham Castle 8 February – 5 September 2021

Slots available in 2020 and 2021

Exhibition Guide

Image courtesy of Design Museum.