Paul Smith to merge women’s and men’s shows next January

London - Although Paul Smith previously announced plans to restructure its business and streamline its collections coed fashions shows were not in the planning. Until now that is.

The UK fashion label, named after its founder Sir Paul Smith, is set to host its debut combined fashion show for its womenswear and menswear Autum/Winter 2017 collection next season in Paris. Taking place on January 22, during Paris men’s fashion week, the coed show aims to bridge the gap between men’s fashion week and Paris Couture fashion week. In short, the show will close Paris men’s fashion week and open Paris Couture fashion week.

Sir Paul Smith, who usually shows his women’s wear ready-to-wear collection during London Fashion Week, and men’s in Paris, describes the merging of the "boundaries between men’s and women’s" as a “natural step” for his business, as it is aligned with the fashion company's wider design ethos.

“As an independent business, we can be very agile and address the changes in the evolving market in interesting ways,” said the designer in a statement. “I’m excited to be taking the women’s catwalk show to join the men’s in the heart of Paris to where it all began in the seventies. Exciting times ahead!”

Paul Smith, who has been showing his menswear in Paris since 1976, joins an increasing number of designers and fashion houses, such as Burberry, Gucci and Bottega Veneta, in hosting a single coed fashion show, rather than two separate shows.

This announcement as Paul Smith continues to expand his retail por portfolio across the globe, which includes recent openings in Paris, Sydney and Tokyo. Paul Smith aims to bring renewed focus to its design by consolidating all of its former seven product lines to two. One, a streamlined luxury offer, Paul Smith, and the other, the recently launched contemporary collection, PS by Paul Smith.

Photos: Paul Smith, Facebook