Paul Smith is a rather ordinary name for a fashion designer. It lacks the resonance of, for example, Yohji Yamamoto or Josephus Melchior Thimister, to pick just two individuals working in the same field. But should Paul Smith care? His name is behind Britain's most successful fashion label, with an annual turnover of £171 million sterling. And, as he will cheerily admit, much of this success is due to his very ordinariness.
The straightforward and straight-speaking Paul Smith was in Dublin to deliver a lecture as part of this year's Design Week. The equally plain title of his talk, "Observations and Other Stuff", indicated the emphasis this designer has always placed on "just using your eyes". A sequence of slides demonstrated his own keen eye for new sources of inspiration, whether a seed packet ("We used that as the starting point for floral print shirts in 1982/83") or women in Rajasthan whose colourful layers of clothing "showed how spectacularly different shades can be put together".
Smith argues that all areas of design are afflicted today with "the disease of copying". As a much-copied designer who has frequently had to sue other labels, he speaks from personal experience. "It's disappointing to think that's what is going on," he says. "Everyone is so into formulas and rolling out themed this and that. It truly appals me and I wonder how we can get a bit of individuality directly back into the world." Smith's own highly-developed sense of individuality, along with an engaging personality and an enthusiasm undimmed after almost 30 years in fashion, is one reason why he continues to be so popular. His designs are not flash; one Irish fan calls them "ordinary clothes for ordinary people". The plain black suit he wore yesterday, although undeniably well-cut, had no attention-grabbing features. However, as he pointed out, the jacket lapels' reverse had stitching detail and the dark lining carried bands of lilac. A hint of dandyism is never far from his work.
"One of my strengths - which is also a weakness - is that Paul Smith's appeal is very wide. It's interesting that last weekend, in our Floral Street store in London, we had Sir Norman Foster, who's in his 60s, Mick Jagger who's in his 50s, Mick Hucknall in his 30s and guys from The Verve who are still in their 20s. As I, and the company, get older, we still manage to attract the young." Now aged 52, Smith's background in retailing probably offers a further explanation for his abiding appeal. By the time he was 20, he had already begun managing his first boutique in his native Nottingham, where his design studio is still based. But even Paul Smith confesses to being puzzled by the extraordinary demand for his label in Japan, where he is the most successful European designer in the country with 200 shops, their wooden interior fittings shipped out from England.
For a man usually so capable on conversing on any topic, he has to struggle when discussing the Japanese market.
"I really don't know. I think a lot of it just comes down to my personality. They really like me out there."