In Pictures: Paul Smith takes to Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo as guest designer

British brand Paul Smith joined the schedule of the ongoing Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo (FWT) this week, with a runway showcasing its latest autumn/winter 2025 collection “inspired by the art of image making”. The event came as part of the ‘by R’ project, an initiative backed by the fashion week’s main sponsor Rakuten that intends to support the Japanese fashion industry by bringing established brands on as headliners.

This season, Paul Smith followed in the footsteps of Bape and Marimekko, which have each taken up the guest designer spot in recent editions. For Paul Smith, participation highlighted the “decades-long link” between Japan and the brand’s eponymous designer, who is said to have visited the country more than 100 times.

The show offered a glimpse into a forthcoming collaboration between Paul Smith and Barbour, which have worked together on jackets, knitwear, shows and accessories, among other things. A see-now-buy-now capsule collection designed exclusively for the ‘by R’ project was also unveiled, built around a photo taken by Paul, himself, which featured shirts, T-shirts and accessories.

This mirrored the overall concept of the collection, which brought together looks for both men and women that intended to serve as a nod to the “personal uniforms of some of the 20th century’s most iconic photographers”, like William Eggleston, David Bailey and Saul Leiter, whose colour photography informed the line’s “inky” palette.

Traditional tailoring materials such as herringbone wool sat alongside contrasting fabrics, bringing unexpected twists to some designs. Others appeared in blown up, exaggerated sizes or in patchwork setups as further references to the often unkempt appearances of the collection’s muses. At the core, however, was a print of the photo ‘Field Flower’, captured by Harold B. Smith, Paul Smith’s father, which appeared on shirts, ties, eveningwear and knitwear.