Sir Paul Smith celebrates the Tour de France!

 Yesterday was the Tour de France and avid cyclist Sir Paul Smith (who raced until he was 18 and still cycles regularly) celebrated with an exhibition of cycling heros by artist Karl Kopinski at his Soho Shop. It was quite a bustling event!  You could also see the Paul Smith 531 cycling collection which includes a  Mercian Fixed-Gear Bike, a chronograph watch with numerous features including a stopwatch to lightweight Ventile Cotton Cycling Jackets exclusive to Mr Porter.

Previously Sir Paul Smith designed the shirts for the 2013 Giro d’Italia, including the Maglia Rosa (Pink Jersey) awarded to the overall leader and this year he designed 3 posters for the Tour De France which can be downloaded at Paul Smith.

I ran into Paul Smith outside his shop, and he is as charming and charismatic as you'd expect him to be. I'm always a bit hesitant to ask a designer for a photo but I really wanted one of him and he was more than happy to oblige. He asked if we liked the collection and if we'd seen his watches as he really liked them in particular - he then lead us around the corner to show us some bicycles that had come from India - his passion for cycling is infectious!