Paul Smith Women Spring 2009

There are still plenty of people who question the wisdom of a Paul Smith collection for women. The problem is that womenswear doesn't really play into his strengths, given that his hugely successful menswear line is such an expression of his own appetites and idiosyncrasies. Spring 2009 was inspired by an exhibition of British Orientalist art that just closed at Tate Britain, so there were caftan-inspired long cotton dresses and trousers with the volume of harem pants, and hair and makeup that pointed to a long session in a hammam. A blurred gingham suggested cloth that had been washed and left in the sun. It looked strong in the fitted-then-flaring floor sweeper that closed the show (very Norma Shearer).