A great British success story, Paul Smith's smart, cool clothes and idiosyncratic accessories have earned him a place in the front ranks of British fashion. Born in Nottingham in 1946, Smith started as a gofer in a local clothing warehouse at the age of 18. In 1970, he opened his first shop with a few hundred pounds of savings and took evening classes in tailoring, gradually developing his own style. By 1976, he was playing consultant to an Italian shirt manufacturer and to the International Wool Secretariat. In the same year, he showed his first collections in Paris under the Paul Smith label.