Paul Smith Internship Report

M I C H E L L E N I K E L S K I

my name is paul.smith.

international fashion management AUTHOR COMPANY SUPERVISOR PS AMFI MENTOR INTERN PERIOD

MICHELLE NIKELSKI PAUL SMITH BETH THOMAS SVEN CARLIN SEPT 2015 - JAN 2016

The following report presents personal as well as professional experiences during my five month Press internship at Paul Smith in London.

It seeks to give insight on my development within the past few months and furthermore displays achievements and as well as challenges during my time at the company. The report commences with a brief reflection of the company’s profile from its core values to its company structure and objectives. This is followed by my own personal insight and opinion of the company, providing a professional view on career and learning objectives at Paul Smith. In order to make this report as authentic as possible, I ensured that I used reliable sources from the company but mainly my own accomplishments and experiences that support my argument. Furthermore, my bi-weekly logbook assisted me in reflecting the challenges I faced and to then make it my priority to turn them into achievements.

I couldn't have gone this far if it weren't with the help of the Press team who motivated me to push me to my fullest abilities. Thereby, I would personally like to thank Beth Thomas and Nicola Patrick. Not only were they responsible for hiring me, but both were influential mentors who expanded my knowledge in press. Lastly, I would like to thank Sven Carlin, my internship coach, for his support and guidance while I strolled my way through this internship.

F O R E W O R D

TABLE OF CONTENTS COMPANY HISTORY............................. 1 PAUL SMITH..................................................................3 MARKETING MIX.......................................................................5 MENTALITY GROUP.........................................................................9 TONE OF VOICE...............................................................................10 PRESS RESPONSIBILITIES..................................................................11 COMPANY EVENTS..................................................................13 INDEPENDENT PROJECT..............................................19 CONCLUSION...........................................23

introduction This booklet was created while completing an internship in the Press Department at Paul Smith, which is located in London. Going into my internship, I felt my strongest competences included organisation, dedication and having a positive mind-set, which I thought were significant factors to implement when interning in the fashion industry. Several pitfalls I felt could potentially occur included getting emotionally attached to my work and just being generally naive about the nature of fashion.

Needless to say, I had high expectations of Paul Smith- especially as it was the first luxury brand that I worked for. Therefore I had somewhat of an ambiguous understanding on what the nature of it would be like. I knew it would consist of high amounts of work and hours of dedication. Nonetheless, I’ve always had high respect for the company due to its humbleness and modesty, which is an uncommon aspect for a brand to have these days.

At Paul Smith I was provided with a phenomenal experience that advanced my competences and extended my knowledge of the fashion industry. It was my intention on clearly illustrating these aspects to prove how I faced my competences at a professional level. This report is divided into four segments - a company profile, a reflection of the responsibilities of working in press, an independent study and a final conclusion.

Additionally, my personal experiences along with a bi-weekly logbook have been added to make use of any valuable input in order to provide an in-depth insight on the internship.

COMPANY HISTORY

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2014

Paul Smith collaborated with lamp manufacturer Anglepoise to create a new version of the classic Anglepoise Type75 lamp to mark 80 years since its first production. Smith applied a strikingly colourful treatment with a playful colour-by-component approach

2015

Smith designed a bespoke Land Rover Defender. The one-off design featured 27 individual colours and was created to mark 67 continuous years of production for the Land Rover Defender

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THE COMPANY

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“Classic with a twist through the implementation of prints and colours.”

PAUL SMITH One can easily specify Paul Smith as Britain's leading designer, recognized for his creative spirit- which contains a combination of modernity and tradition. Paul Smith specialises in innovative craftsmanship that is applied to in a traditional manner. Along with this, the company implements cutting-edge designs to create contemporary and strikingly-made pieces. Combining such enthusiasm for diverse, cultural references along with implementing eccentric combinations of patterns and colour that are applied to with understatement, Paul Smith genuinely expresses a true and contemporary aesthetic.

MISSION STATEMENT As Paul Smith is not a stakeholder company- meaning they are private; there is no mission statement needed.

QUALITY CURIOSITY AUTHENTICITY VISION STATEMENT To consolidate a confident, self-assured and unified message to our company identity that echoes Paul's personality and vision, which has always been our inspiration.

To communicate Paul Smith's individuality at a company level; operating in a manner that is underpinned by a generous and innovative company culture that goes beyond limits of our own operations by engaging and interacting with the surrounding arts and culture that we feel most inspired by.

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MARKETING MIX

Menswear Mainline, Paul Smith London, PS by Paul Smith and Paul Smith Jeans Womenswear Mainline, Paul Smith Black and Paul by Paul Smith Others Paul Smith Accessories, Paul Smith Show; Paul Smith rugs, china, spectacles and fragrance, which are all made under license.

PRODUCT As the company is a design-based company as opposed to strategy-based one, its motive is not to go after selling but to encourage creativity, being inspired and inspiring others. Paul Smith is praised for its clothing which features menswear, womenswear and childrens wear. Today there are 14 diverse collections that vary through the implementation of assorted combinations of shape, patterns and colour.

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Paul Smith embraces modern yet traditional craftsmanship as all products are designed in Nottingham and London, produced in Italy with fabrics that are of Italian, French and British origin. Having an eye for detail is a significant aspect of the brand as it creates traditional work wear that has a modern and classic twist to it.

PLACE

PROMOTION

After commencing the funding for his one shop in Nottinghill, England - Paul Smith now has more than 300 stores worldwide, including being wholesaled to 66 countries. Paul Smith shops can be found in London, Paris, Milan, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Antwerp, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, U.A.E – plus having over 200 shops throughout Japan. Paul Smith shops reflect the character of Paul and his designs, an unmistakable Englishness augmented by the unexpected. Each shop differs from the other, from a shocking pink building with movie set styling on Melrose Avenue, LA, to a Japanese garden at the heart of the Jingumae store in Tokyo. Each shop showcases a diverse and eccentric object complementing the clothing collections with an extensive selection of jewellery, books, art and antiques.

At Paul Smith isn't about telling consumers 'Look at how beautiful this products is. You need to have it.' Instead they prefer to intrigue their consumers, grabbing their attention through saying 'Look at this product, there's a secret to it. Find the secret. Discover the little secret of Paul Smith.' This method captivates consumers, driving them towards the brand.

Paul Smith does not encourage aspiration, but engagement. Aspiration is when you want to be it and own it and engagement focuses on connecting with customers on a personal level, creating an emotional experience. Paul Smith is not an elite company, it's a comprehensive com pany that has no levels and is purely optimistic.

It does not make you feel bad that you don't have it but instead makes you curious and makes you want to know more and know the story. It's all about initiating a conversation between the brand and the consumer

PRICE Despite it being a premium designer brand, Paul Smith does not have an extremely high price range in comparison to other luxury brands. The following chart below indicates an average pricing range between men's and women's wear.

As the chart shows, while different clothing categories have different price ranges, there average retail price for men is roughly the same to women's.

menswear

womenswear

Blazers: £199.00 - £785.00 Coats & Jackets: £169.00 - £4,500.00 Jeans: £100.00 - £245.00 Knitwear: £125.00 - £395.00 Polo Shirts: £45.00 - £305.00 Shirts: £89.00 - £349.00 Suits: £675.99 - £1,045.00

Blazers: £325.00 - £975.00 Coats&Jackets:£295.00 - £2,795.00 Trousers: £125.00 - £535.00 Dresses: £135.00 - £1,395.00 Knitwear: £140.00 - £630.00 Shirts: £115.00 - £660.90 Skirts: £179.00 - £599.00

Shoes: £135.00 - £395.00 Accessories: £12.00 - £895.00

Shoes: £135.00 - £550.00 Accessories: £17.00 - £875.00

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internal analysis

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PERSONNEL

PRODUCTION

Paul Smith offices are located in Nottingham and London - having Nottingham representing their headquarters. Due to having two different head offices, the company’s departments are divided and segmented between the two.

Designed in Nottingham and London, the Paul Smith collections are primarily produced in England and Italy while the fabrics used are mainly of Italian, French and British origin

Paul Smith’s office in London has an average of 200 employees, who work within the Design Team, Digital Marketing, Franchise Marketing, Wholesale Marketing and or Press Department. Nottingham’s head office consists of a Human Resources Team as well as a Finance and Manage ment Department. As both offices are situated within the UK, a high majority of employees are either English or are from other parts of the UK.

How are pieces selected to be sold in store?

Design comes up with boards and key products and then discuss these with marketing and sale teams to show what they've got. At that point, products are selected based on ones that could potentially make an impact in terms of the company's image and sale.

COMPANY STRUCTURE Paul Smith has more of a flat hierarchy structure, indicating that there are only a few levels between Paul and the employees in various departments.

Each department - whether its press, design, marketing or franchising has their own head manager who reports to either Paul or his personal assistants and to their subordinates in their department.

As the company is private and is not a stakeholder-based company, Paul is the ultimate decision maker. Therefore, when any decisions are made it is his investments that are at stake as it is his company.

This can be seen as a high luxury to have, especially compared to other companies.

BUSINESS CULTURE The company has a very relaxed and flexible environment. Everyone feels comfortable to contribute. What it comes down to is delivering the best of time and being the best you can be. Everyone has passion.

GOALS / STRATEGY Within the last few years, Paul Smith's goals have altered. Initially, the company's objectives were to focus were on both men's and women's mainline collection being featured on the catwalks. However, now the company decided to feature its key products as well, embracing its classical twist. Every product conveys a representation of Paul Smith, whether it's adding a golden button to a white shirt or inserting colourful insoles into a pair of boots, it symbolizes the company's spirit.

COLLABORATIONS /PARTNERS Paul Smith encourages collaborations with anyone and everyone who has high credentials. they partner with company's who are like them and have the same interests. For example, their latest collaboration with range rover, symbolising Paul's childhood.

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MENTALITY GROUP The motive of Paul Smith is to personally connect with individuals who have a similar taste to Paul through moving them with exciting and motivating stories. As the company is a design company instead of strategy-based one its motive is to be inspiring to others instead of going after a selling perspective.

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Back in 2012 Paul, himself, declared that he was happy to sell less of the multi-stripe shirt as he found that it was too over-commercialised, seeing it on customers that he did not want to reach. Once the next season began, the company completely diminished producing the multi-stripe pieces.

Even though this meant selling 20 million less, the brand stood by its core motive and target group to embrace its individuality.

The company is very design-lead. It's Paul's taste, therefore, people who think like him and have similar interests will like the company.

This business model is very different than that of a standard company profile as it is all about the brands spirit and energy. It's about creativity, being inspired and to be inspiring.

TONE of VOICE Paul Smith reflects on Paul, himself.

Confident.

British.

Approachable.

Friendly. Respectful- and to top it all off has a good sense of humour.

Intelligent but never patronising.

Informed but not pretentious. Confident enough not to bow down to passing trends – but to be a tastemaker, not follower.

Showing, but not telling too much – convey to the customer what they need to know in the clearest way possible.

quality

curiosity

authenticity 10

press responsibilities SAMPLE RETURNS

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I was fully responsible of handling all returns from the company's publishers. If a particular magazine or stylist wanted to feature a key look from Paul Smith, they would email the head of press asking for a request. Once a look is confirmed between the head of press and the publisher, information is passed down to the press assis tants that are then in charge of the send out that is given to the publisher. This is known as the process of doing a send out. However, once the samples are returned to the office, I would exceed in the return process. This included receiving a package from a courier and unpacking all of the samples. I would then have to identify the pub lisher it came from to find its saved docket, which stated all of the samples the publisher was given.

After checking in the samples and identifying which samples were brought back and which weren't I would steam all of the samples and then carefully place them to their correct position. Returning samples was one of my main responsibili ties which I commenced since the start of my internship. Once starting off being a task that took me time to complete, it is now something that I can easily do without even thinking. Every day of my internship, I had my goal of completing all of the returns and ensured that I did not leave the office until it was finished.

SAMPLE SEND-OUTS I learned how to do send-outs within a month of my internship. A send-out is the process of sending a sample to a publisher in order to be featured. The whole process of doing a send-out involves 'checking-out' the samples, which is recorded on a docket. Each sample has a code, description and is part of a sub-collection. All of this information must be typed up on the company's server and saved. Sometimes samples can lost and need to be tracked down, therefore after reflecting back to the docket, one can contact the publisher. After one checks out a sample, this followed by packing it up in a bag, booking a courier and then having it deliv ered. I personally found this process to be a little challenging at first as it required so much accuracy, thus I would get a little intimidated on what I was doing sometimes and would ask for help. However, as my efficiency in doing send-outs improved, I went from completing one send out a day, to gaining full responsibility of doing it entirely on my own within the whole day. On top of this, I was informed that one of my fortes was styling - hence within the last month of my internship, both of my mentors took full advantage of this and asked me to pick out looks and do send-outs on a regular basis.

RUNNING ERRANDS After a month into my internship, I was given the responsibility to use the company card to run errands. It usually ranged from collecting magazines from the shop, running to the tailors and dry cleaners. Then of course when any significant events came up, I was also accountable for picking up/ delivering items. For example: I was ac countable for delivering personal invites for Fashion Week, which was a very exciting errand to run.

NEWSPAPER COVERAGE

VISUAL MERCHANDISING

Every morning, I would distribute the local newspaper to the press team - each employee having a different newspaper publisher. Our most popular papers were from the Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Financial Times and The Times. I was held responsible for skimming through the papers to find any coverage. The team is also entitled to use the coverage program, Gorkana, which is a program that identifies and marks-down any coverage that the brand receives and then notifies us via email.

It is highly significant that the showroom is always kept in a highly presentable condition for anyone who enters- whether it's an appointment, guest or even Paul himself. As the appearance of the showroom strongly reflect on the appearance of company, I was taught how to maintain it in a highly respectable manner. Towards the end of my internship, I gained full responsibility of merchandising the showroom, which I was pleasantly content.

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Fashion Week SS16

D

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uring the delightfulness of Fashion Week , I developed an extensive perspective and experience on what it takes to run and prepare a catwalk that is ultimately viewed on a global level. It's all about initiating two major seasons - Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter - by which talented and selective designers present their new collections to those who have a strong influence in the fashion industry. These influences include Press, Retail Buyers, Fashion Bloggers and much more.

My role in preparation for Fashion Week was being held responsible for receiving, welcoming and noting the arrival of guests- both backstage and at the entrance. I was also accountable for registering the arrival and distribution of guest passes along with their selected seat reservation. This process required communicating to all guests in an appropriate and professional manner upon their arrival. All guest-related information was clearly noted and contained on several iPads, which were distributed amongst Press in order to ensure organisation and efficiency while the event took place.

Initially the role in welcoming and registering the arrival of guests was not easy as I presumed - especially as I had to ask guests for their full name. There were those who didn't hesitate and were more than happy to give me their name but there were some who weren't as content. Due to this, I did notice that I lacked in self-assurance - especially amongst the beginning of guests arrivals. It wasn't until I had a clearer understanding on the tasks that needed to be done and along with the help of repeating my role over and over again that my lack in confidence diminished. Towards the end, definitely noticed a strong improvement in the way I approached guests and handled all scenarios. I developed a clear understanding on what it's like to work efficiently and effectively for a seasonal catwalk and to achieve success through pulling off a phenomenal show at London Fashion Week. This experience immensely enhanced my confidence, from the way I approached guests and handled difficult and stressful situation to meeting new individuals. It was a memory that will definitely be cherished.

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PRESS DAy

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Press day is a significant event where Publishers are invited to the Paul Smith showroom to be introduced to the new Men’s and Women’s SS16 collection. The purpose behind this event was allow employees in press to mingle with publishers, informing them of the seasons chosen theme and message behind the collection.

The significance of having a press day is to gain coverage, whether it is through media or magazines. Attaining more coverage increases the chances of Paul Smith reaching more consumers.

My responsibility towards working at Press Day included greeting guests, offering them beverages while fulfilling my usual routine of working in the showroom.

As I was fairly new to the company, there were several difficulties going about this event. Firstly, my knowledge of the theme of their latest collection wasn't as strong as others were. Therefore, when I did have the chance to speak to publishers, the conversation about the collection didn't contain as much context as it potentially could have.

Furthermore, unlike others in the press team, I wasn't introduced to any of the invited publishers, therefore, was rather unaware of their names and where they worked. However, there were some advantages to working at Press Day. Firstly, it was a great opportunity for me to expand my connections. I was fully aware

that all of the head offices of the biggest magazines such as Elle, Wonderland, GQ etc... were all invited so it would have been regretted had I not taking the opportunity to me them and enhance my social skills. Overall, it was a positive experience, which in the end allowed me to connect with the press team on more of a personal level.

At the very end of a season, Paul Smith participates in a sample sale whereby most sample merchandises are sold at extremely low prices to employees (Up to 80% off).

Every sample sale has employees queued up early in the morning, waiting for the sale to commence. This season featured pieces from the Autumn/Winter 2015 and Spring/Summer 2015 collections.

Despite everyone being informed of the sale a month in advance, it wasn't until a week before it began that we helped set it up. My role was to unpack all archived boxes, which were filled to the top with samples. I had to correctly distribute all samples on railings according to their collection. This ensured that all samples would stay together in an organised and an accessible manner. On the day of the sale, everyone in press was obliged to come into the office between 7:30 - 8:00am. It was vital that all pieces were presented in an orderly manner before the sale began therefore I did one last final check. . It officially commenced at 8:00am, which is when all of the madness began. While the

S A M P L E S A L E

sale took place, I would help maintain the tidiness - so if someone accidently dropped a shirt on the floor, I would correctly hang up the garment in its right place. Further on I was in charge of the cash till. This task was a little more challenging for me as I had little experience working with cash machines. Therefore, due to the lack of experience and the time pressure, I would make small mistakes then and there. After asking for help several times, and through repeating the process over and over again, I quickly got the hang of the task.

The sale officially closed at 15:00pm, which gave us enough time to pack everything up to be archived. The archiving itself took two full days, as they had to be send to the headquarters in Nottingham. I was held responsible for cleaning and packing up the entire showroom once the sale was over, which meant folding all leftover samples into boxes that were then archived. Overall, it was a very fun and intense event - which was intriguing to participate in.

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PAUL SMITH: LCM

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“Hello, my name is Paul Smith” London Collections Men highlights both the creative and commercial significance of British brands and its rapidly, emerging talent. Its all about inspiration and success.

All scheduled events are designed to showcase authentic British fashion talent, from the world’s most innovative emerging talents to global menswear brands.

On January 11th 2016, Paul Smith took his London Collections Men presentation back to his most cherished memories. The event itself took place at Pace London, a respected, contemporary art gallery. Inside, Paul held several appearences whereby he introduced the theme behind his work along with his new designs for the fal-winter 2016. Paul had the clever idea of recreating his first-ever shop back in Nottingham 1970, which was solely three meters by three meters. Therefore, the presentation took place on a cube that recreated the same dimensions.

The thought process behind this work of art was very intruiging. Paul wanted to travel back in time and translate his memories that underlined his creative process, inspiration in art, music, photography and ofcourse, people, which eventually led him to build an empire in the fashion industry.

The theme was all about having an ‘organised chaos’ ambience - the thought of losing track of the present, thus immersing oneself into memories.

My role in his event was to help set up the actual presentation - ‘the cube.’ Therefore, it was my responsibility to carry over objects that would be used to implement an organized but chaotic ambience.

Furthermore, I was in charge of standing outside of the Gallery, whereby I greeted and and guided all guests indoors. As the hours went by and the number of guests decreased, I then was accountable for registering the arrival of guests using an iPad.

Overall, it was a very exciting event. I was able to run into some familiar faces that I met from Fashion Week and Press Day, which was lovely. However, the best aspect about that event was Paul’s speech. I personally found it to be spectacular. It was genuinely beautiful seeing him so passionate about his brand and especially about his pal David Bowie who unfortunately passed away that very morning. The whole brief gave us all a thoughtful glimpse at Paul Smith’s independent mind.

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INDEPENDENT PROJECT DIFFICULTY KEEPING TRACK OF SAMPLES As it is one of the main duties of press; send-outs to publishers are done regularly on a daily basis. Therefore, at times it can be difficult keeping track of everything - knowing exactly where a sample is located, how long it's been gone for and when it will return back to the showroom. It is fundamental that all dockets state the publisher that the samples are going to along with the date its sent-out on. It also states the date by which all samples should be returned by, which is usually one or two days after the publishers shoot. Unfortunately, it is common for a docket to not be returned by the mandatory date.

When this happens, it is vital to go through the process of doing a call back- which is when we email the publisher to inform them on the delay of their return. There have been several times where a publisher will declare that they have in fact returned the sample, despite it not showing up at reception. This can cause quite the stirrup in the office especially when the sample cannot be identified/located.

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UNIDENTIFIED RETURNS RESOLUTION Come up with a more organised management system that can help track down samples.

Use scanner to check out every sample.

Ensure that publisher is clear with the return dates of the samples.

Some returns are brought back to the showroom without any identification on them from publishers, therefore, it's difficult to interpret exactly where they came from. When this situation occurs, it is our responsibility to go through all samples in the bag and use our memory to recall where it was sent. An alterna tive solution to this is to look through all 'Send-Out' files on a computer to track out which publisher it could be from. This whole process can waste a high amount of valuable time, which can be spent on doing other responsibilities.

RESOLUTION It is obligatory that all returns are brought to the showroom, immediately and as soon as they have been brought in by a courier.

If a return cannot be brought into the showroom, ensure that the return is temporarily stored in a secure area

LIMITATIONS /RESOLUTIONS OF PS SHOWROOM

SAMPLES HAVE BEEN MISPLACED OR LOST

FALSE INFORMATION ON DOCKETS

There has been one scenario where a SS16 Look went missing, entirely. Once it was noticed that the sample hadn't been returned by its required date, a call back was then made. However, the publisher confirmed that they had, in fact, sent it back to the showroom that very morning. The next alternative solution was to check with reception to ensure that the box hadn't been checked in already. To make things even more complicated, the box was checked in and had been returned but literally was nowhere to be found. Situations like these are unacceptable to occur- especially in a showroom where tons of publishers are asking for that look to use in a shoot.

Sometimes a docket may contain inaccurate sample codes or descriptions when times are hectic in the showroom. This raises the risk of sending out a sample(s) without it being tracked or stated that it was sent-out, causing commotion in the showroom when having to look for it. This also raises the chances of losing a sample as it is not stated on the docket, therefore press or the publisher may not be entirely aware on where it is located.

RESOLUTION

Use the scanner to scan sample code.

RESOLUTION Ensure that every docket is checked multiple times so there is no mistake.

Ensure that all publisher information is written on the tag on the bag prior to send-out. This includes, publisher, contact name, address and contact number.

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INDEPENDENT PROJECT LACK IN COMMUNICATION

RESOLUTION When collecting or returning a sample, it is common for shop stock to have not been informed or even aware about the collection from their managers. Therefore several calls have to be made so the whole process has to be rushed in a panicking manner - potentially causing an error in collecting the right sample. This can also lead to the possibility that the required sample may not be in stock, which is also an error.

Identify what information is really needed. Each department should develop a list of the kind of information they feel is lacking from other departments.

Make an agreed standard operating procedure for communicating between departments. This includes when and how information should flow between departments.

Rotate and cross train: Periodically rotating a few staff members across different departments can - Physical separation really help them to gain a wider - Late or no informing at all at Paul Smith shop perspective of how the company functions as a whole – and also de-Communication can be time consuming velop their personal skill set.

REASONS FOR POOR COMMUNICATION

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LIMITATIONS /RESOLUTIONS OF COLLECTING & RETURNING SHOPSTOCK

LACK IN ORGANISATION

TIME CONSUMING

RESOLUTION When collecting a sample from Floral Street or Albemarle, shop stock is usually uninformed of the situation, therefore, are unaware of the required code or description for the samples. This process is time consuming as shop stock has to ask around or might have to guess which one it is (Example: When I had to collect a customized suit for a significant event and had to personally deliver the suit to a hotel, I was given the wrong suit from shop stock. Therefore, one of the staff had to chase me down the street to tell me it was the wrong suit. I then had to wait another 30 minutes on the street to receive the correct suit- which caused a delay in the delivery process.)

Avoid Verbal Orders - anything that is of importance and needs to be remembered, should be written down. In doing so, remembering and understanding them will be much easier. Of course there will be questions, but those questions will also help clarify what is expected Enhance Direct Communication some may think that is personally easier to implement digital communication and call someone rather than approaching them in person. However, the fact of the matter is this harms the effectiveness of communication

Since the beginning of my internship, I've been asked to pick up items from Floral Street on a weekly basis instead of having them couriered to the building. I then came to realise that this was because it would save a lot of time as the staff in Floral Street work in quite a slow manner. This can be triggered from the following reasons: - Being uninformed on the sample collection or return from the managers - Not knowing how to check out items or how to go about the process RESOLUTION Ensure that shop staff of the situation and tell them in advance that you will head to the shop to collect a sample.

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conclusion If I had to list the amount of skills I developed while interning at Paul Smith, it would be endless. I highly enjoyed working in the press department with everyone. Like any other start of an internship, it was rather difficult adjusting to my responsibilities that I had to fulfil on a daily basis – especially as I came into the company not having any experience in Press, thus not knowing what to expect. After being introduced to the responsibilities of working in the showroom, I then began to attain some perspective on what the department is genuinely like and how significant each role was. I learned how to handle returns, how to do send-outs and call backs – but more importantly, I learned the significance behind all of it. I developed an understanding of the process on how Paul Smith ends up on the cover of the Evening Standard Magazine – which itself is a tremendous deal. I also developed my ability to merchan dise all of the samples in the showroom to fit the aesthetic and ambience of the brand.

When people think of Paul Smith, they should think of quality, curiosity and authenticity. So how are these aspects going to be translated into the showroom? Well, the answer to this question is fundamental as it is an aspect that needs to be kept on top of, most importantly for appointments that are in

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in the showroom. It’s vital that you ensure that there is a strong and popular selection of samples in the showroom so that when a well-known stylist comes in, they will be able to have a positive outlook of Paul Smith and pick as many looks as possible – the more, the better and the higher the chance of being featured and receiving coverage.

Everything comes down to coverage. Coverage is what keeps consumers informed about Paul Smith – therefore it is vital that the company ensures that they are featured frequently with the right look and the right company From the day that I stepped foot into the building till the day I left, I can say that I’m honoured to have been given the opportunity to work with such a delightful team. From the beginning, I worked with two colleagues in the showroom whilst I did my daily responsibilities, which genuinely did make things run a little easier as I would have them to console in if I had any questions or concerns. In terms of responsibilities, I initially started off having very little as I was new to the company and was inexperienced in the department. Therefore, it was obvious that they would not trust my abilities as much as they would trusted others. However, as the months flew by and my skills developed, my responsibility extended till I was fully in

charge of the showroom, which I was immensely pleased with. However, the responsibilities I hoped to achieve outside of the showroom, in other departments, did not occur. This thought entirely was my mistake as I assumed, having had multiple roles in smaller companies, that I would be allowed to work in different departments and gain experience doing different roles. I learned that things run differently for big brands in opposed to smaller ones – its common to have less responsibilities due to having more employees. Although Paul Smith is a genuine and respectful company for work for, it does have its flaws that seek improvement – one being a lack of organisation. Generally speaking, most brands are unorganised due to the stress and impulsiveness of working in fashion - whether it’s forgetting to write an important task to accomplish, misunderstandings and not communicating. From the beginning of working at Paul Smith, I noticed that the company lacked in terms of organisation and when communicating with external parties.

This flaw provided myself the opportunity of introducing this as the subject for my independent project. With the help of writing up protocols along with informing and ensuring that the whole team knows what’s going on, a lot of small problems could be easily solved.

Reflecting my experiences back to learning objectives I set myself before my internship, I have been able to fulfil, if not even surpass them. One fundamental development I accomplished is that now I have gained full responsibility of the Paul Smith showroom.

This includes ensuring that all sample returns have been brought back on time and informing my colleagues which samples have been return and which haven't. I have also enhanced my communicative skills through gaining confidence in doing send-outs and handling call back procedures. I went from rarely ever doing send-outs to doing it on a regular basis. This also includes being in charge of styling for some of the biggest publishers. Along with this, I improved my organisation skills, particularly from my one mentor, Nicola, who taught me to keep track of every single detail of an item in order to prepare for bad situations occurring (eg: a sample going missing). Additionally, I trained myself to deal with stress and pressure of evolving responsibilities. All of these accomplishments if not prove myself in terms of achieving a leading position in an international business. Furthermore, they are also competences that I will bring back with me to AMFI as I go through the final phase of my final graduation project.

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REFERENCES WEBSITES "Company History." Paul Smith. Web. <http://www.paulsmith.co.uk/uk-en/shop/information/company-history.html>.

"Paul Smith." Design Museum. Web. <http://designmuseum.org/designers/paul-smith>.

"Paul Smith." London Fashion Week. Web. <http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/designers_profile.aspx?designerID=243>.

Sowray, Bibby. Vogue. 1 Nov. 2011. Web. <http://www.vogue.co.uk/spy/biographies/paul-smith>.

"Paul Smith." <i>Wikipedia</i>. Wikimedia Foundation

REPORTS Paul Smith Tone of Voice Company Report Paul Smith AW16 Introduction Report AW16 Paul Smith and PS by Paul Smith Report Paul Smith SS16 Mainline Women Adv Looks Report

“you can find inspiration in anything. and if you can’t, look again.”

- paul smith