“A Suit To Travel” returns to LCM with practical structures and breathable cloth. Time to get back on your bike.

Bikes are back

Riding a bike to work in timeless fashion just got a whole lot easier. Paul himself is said to have a love for cycling, so compiling a collection perfectly suited to the two-wheeled travelling niche who, until now, could only be seen in lycra seems like an idea that could really transform the pairing of travel and style. And what would a presentation of high-performance, easy-movement suits be without world champion, freestyle stunt cyclist Ben Savage putting it to the test? As he curbs, rolls and balances on a series of art sculptures; the proven success of the practical pieces unfold before our very eyes.

Functionally fashionable

One thing that is ever evident with Paul Smith’s “A Suit to Travel” series is that the menswear designers’s role has expanded from simply creating pieces that look the part to creating pieces that look the part and function in the real world. Here is a collection designed with ultimate practicality at the heart of it’s ethos and a contemporary awareness in it’s construction. Using the respected cloth maker – Loro Piana – as the right hand in achieving the confident flexibility and easy-moving suits, high twist yarn is woven into the comfortably flexible summer suits. Significance? No creases and no over-heating while travelling. Winner.

Colour, lots of it

True to his trademark, Paul Smith has of course created a showcase of vibrant colour. A pastel palette holds the base, and summer citrus hues of yellow, green, dusty purple and blue are woven into the check. The result is a vivid windowpane checkered suit you just know has Paul Smith’s name on the label. Season appropriate and stamped with Paul Smith’s eclectic use of colour, the collection reinvents the way in which we wear, pushing designer clothing and day-to-day errands towards a mutual exclusivity.

Words: Hannah Sargeant