Paul Smith opened his first shop in 1970 at 10 Byard Lane, Nottingham, called Paul Smith Vêtements Pour l’Homme, a single room of twelve feet by twelve feet with Smith’s Afghan hound Homer installed as the first shop manager. The proposition was straightforward: British tailoring loosened up by color, pattern, and a buyer’s eye for what else belonged on the rail, selling a mix of established labels alongside Smith’s own designs.