Supersonic Style & Substance

There is only one horse racing meeting on the British Season’s calendar that commands the ‘royal’ prefix. The great and the good have descended on Berkshire to witness the pomp, pageantry, fashions and thoroughbreds of Royal Ascot since 1711 and this year its style and substance are joined with another attribute: supersonic.

Once known as the royalty of the skies, Concorde returns in an immortalised sculpture entitled ICON, designed by international creative Sebastian Conran. The magnificent sculpture, comprising of an authentic Concorde nose and visor, makes its first public outing at the world-famous Royal Ascot meeting this week as a cultural addition within its Grandstand enclosure. Read more about this unique artwork that boasts the credentials of completing hundreds of thousands of miles of supersonic flight in my piece for Berkshire travel guide When in Windsor.

Images courtesy of Parker Hobart

Visit ICON's official website for more information about its conception. 

Hello, My Name Is Paul Smith

With a career spanning over forty years under his designer belt, Sir Paul Smith will reveal the eclectic workings behind his namesake brand, Paul Smith at the Design Museum this November with the exhibition Hello, My Name Is Paul Smith. The international fashion label has been at the forefront of quintessential Britishness  - "classic with a twist" - and Sir Paul Smith was one of very few designers who understood lifestyle branding at conception, which now attests to the label's global success as tailored menswear, womenswear and design emporium - not to mention his own cult following and internet fame with a personal insight to the designer's tastes at Paul Smith World; his fan mail on Twitter with 'Paul's post' as well as his obsessive collecting of all things curio, which contribute to his vast archives that will be sourced for the exhibition.

Highlights will include a recreation of the designer's London office in Covent Garden that is famously crammed with art, craft, books, toys and cycling equipment that are the essential inspiring elements to the idiosyncratic formula of the brand. Dedicated followers will already know every single Paul Smith store is meticulously curated to  minute detail and this unique retail experience will be displayed in the form of contemporary art, furnishings and knickknaks that the designer finds on his travels. Whether you find yourself in San Francisco, Beijing or Paul Smith Globe at London Heathrow's Terminal 5, the Paul Smith brand is the vision of a man that sees beauty in the most unexpected of places to create a timeless product for all tastes.

Hello, My Name Is Paul Smith will take visitors on a journey inside the mind of the sixty-six year old designer, as well as the creative processes behind the fashion brand, from its humble beginnings in Nottingham to the catwalks of Paris and every single idea and item in between. 

For further details about the exhibition visit Paul Smith World.

Hello, My Name Is Paul Smith will open at London's Design Museum on 15th November 2013 to 9th March 2014.