Sir Paul Smith thinks the key to success is to not be "snobby".
Sir Paul Smith
The 71-year-old fashion designer has been at the helm of the fashion business for over five decades, and the mogul think designers should not act as if they are superior to others if they wish to have longevity in the business.
Speaking to Esquire Online, the creative mastermind said: "If you want to be in business for a long time, you can't be snobby or stuck in the mud. You have to just flow with the river. So many people get formulaic. They're so proud that they won't change: 'I do it this way.' No, you don't. You did do it that way, but now you need to do it this way.
"I've been here a long time. We've never gone like a rocket. Never borrowed money. We've always done it very gently and very carefully. And slowly, slowly, you build it up."
And the entrepreneur has hinted he thinks the business has become much more competitive than ever before.
He said: " When I started, the whole idea about being a designer is that you have an idea in your head and your heart, and you hoped somebody liked it. Now it's all about, "Prada are doing this, Gucci are doing that." And everyone's nervous. And it used to be just about: this is what I do.
"Where a lot of designers get it horribly wrong is they do things just to get attention from the press. That does a huge disservice to our industry, and it doesn't do any good for themselves most of the time, because people just think it's silly.
"A lot of fashion is about having a carrier bag that has a particular branding on it, something that says 'I am rich', or 'I am fashionable', or 'I am part of this club'. In my opinion, that's linked to insecurity."
But Paul has come a long way since he first broke into the industry, as he has revealed his first capsule included 10 garments.
He said: "The first little collection, I think it was two shirts, two pairs of pants, two jackets, two pieces of knitwear, and one suit."
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