Sir Paul Smith and Jonathan Saunders are rumoured to be working together.
The 67-year-old designer and his team will "consult" with the young Scottish designer on his women's clothing for next season, a source told the Daily Telegraph newspaper.
Sir Paul Smith
The news - which appears to have been confirmed to the paper in Milan this week - comes as a surprise since the young designer has a far more eclectic aesthetic to Paul's quintessentially British style with a twist.
Paul - who founded his eponymous company in 1970 - recently said he thinks British style is harder to sell nowadays, so the move could be a bid to modernise his clothing.
He previously said: "I'm confused about Britishness these days. I'm not sure if it exists any more. When I first started, my very first collection was quite traditional.
"It had little tweed jackets, but the tweed was in colours that were unexpected. It had little checked shirts in slightly brushed cotton, which could have been seen as a country shirt, and corduroy trousers ... but now, you don't really see any British looks.
"The world's such a small place and we get so much information now. We sell out clothes in 72 countries, so therefore you need Paul Smith fashion rather than a particular Britishness."
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