Paul Smith names Commission as his next mentorship recipient

Paul Smith has named New York-based brand Commission as the next recipient of its '&PaulSmith’ mentorship and collaboration programme.

Following on from the British designer’s project with London-based menswear designer Priya Ahluwalia earlier this year, Smith has teamed up with the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) on a multi-faceted initiative to mentor and develop emerging menswear designers based in North America.

The programme will see the CFDA work in conjunction with the Paul Smith Foundation to elevate the profile of talent from “traditionally underserved communities” by connecting them with commercial partnerships and key business contacts and mentors. This will include business development mentorship from Smith, in addition to an opportunity to co-design the next iteration of the ‘&PaulSmith’ collaboration series.

In a statement, the CFDA and Smith said that Commission, founded in 2018 by New York-based Dylan Cao and Jin Kay, was chosen “for the obvious creative synergy between the two brands as well as their potential for positive impact with Paul’s personal guidance.”

Paul Smith and Commission to collaborate on a capsule collection

Commission, known for redefining and deconstructing the visual language of East Asian culture beyond typical Asian motifs, was selected from the CFDA’s community of designers after an internal committee from the organisation presented a shortlist of candidates to Smith.

The ‘&PaulSmith’ collaborative capsule collection with Commission will be released for autumn/winter 2023, explained the designer, and will be sold at Paul Smith retail stores and on the designer’s website, and exclusively with Ssense, the first global platform to launch Commission in 2020.