Paul Smith 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' prints benefit amfAR

Fashion designer Paul Smith has created a quartet of limited-edition silk-screened posters celebrating the U.S. release of the '70s-era espionage film "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," which hits theaters stateside on Dec. 9.

The movie, based on John le Carré's novel of the same name, focuses on the hunt for a mole in British intelligence and is set in 1973 and '74. Smith apparently consulted with director Tomas Alfredson in the early development stages of the film, offering his thoughts and insights on the mood, color and photographic approach to 1970s-era London. (Smith, once an aspiring professional cyclist, embarked on his long and distinguished fashion career in 1970.)

The images on the posters, a circus tent and a chess piece among them, are references that will make sense to anyone who has seen the film, and the stark black, red and white color palette perfectly evokes the Cold War backdrop against which the film takes place.

I caught a recent press screening, and, while I'd already heard some of the film's fashion buzz (Gary Oldman finding the perfect pair of glasses for his version of George Smiley at a local vintage store, Aquascutum re-creating a specific '70s-era beige Mac among them), I wasn't prepared for the movie's serious style quotient. The spies (Oldman, Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch among them) were dressed by the film's costume designer Jacqueline Durran, in a rich assortment of textured three-piece suits, silk neckties and pocket squares, each man ever-so-subtly differentiated by his style (barrel cuff versus French cuff, double-breasted suit versus single-breasted, choice of footwear). 

The four limited-edition screen-printed posters are numbered in editions of 50 and each one is signed by Smith. Available at all Paul Smith shops (including the 8221 Melrose Ave. boutique locally) as of Dec. 1, they are priced at $160 a piece, with all profits going to amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research.

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-- Adam Tschorn 

Photos: The four limited-edition screen-printed posters invoking imagery from "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" designed by Paul Smith, which are available for $160 each, with all profits going to benefit amfAR. Credit: Paul Smith 

Paris Fashion Week: Paul Smith goes naval, reserved on the runway

The runways of Milan and Paris were bursting with blues of every hue for the spring-summer 2012 collections, but Paul Smith kept it close to a navy base -- in both senses of the word -- for his slim, trim, pared back collection.

Colorwise the pieces on the runway were grounded primarily in navy blue and black, with some browns grays and tans -- and an eye-catching shade of orange.

It was the orange and blue color combination that evoked the feeling of naval dress uniforms paired with the flight deck vests worn on aircraft carriers (for fall and winter 2011, Mark McNairy's first collection for Woolrich Woolen Mills used a vibrant yellow accent color to create a similar vibe) and the military feeling was only made stronger by ribbed knit sweaters, nylon windbreakers that had a parachute fabric feel and button-front shirts paired with matching neckties as straight and no-nonsense as a nun's ruler.

The collection was more straightforward and unadorned than Smith's recent collections, eschewing pattern and print (except a brief flash of a jacket lining, ad a few final looks that had shattered-glass designs) for orange and blue color-blocked sweaters and mixed fabrication trousers that paired blue, silk-like trousers with leather pieces at each leg from mid-thigh to mid-calf. 

No word on what inspired the collection (I usually like to catch Smith backstage after the show where he spins some fantastic yarn involving his elbow-rubbing days with rock 'n' rollers), but no matter, it stands at -- and commands -- attention all by itself.

-- Adam Tschorn in Paris

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Photos: Looks from the Paul Smith spring-summer 2012 runway collection shown during Paris Fashion Week. Credit: Thibault Camus / Associated Press

Paris Fashion Week: Paul Smith goes lunar luxe

Framed by a backlit photo of the full moon hanging on the horizon at both ends of the runway, and accompanied by a soundtrack that began and ended with the strains of space rock pioneers Pink Floyd, Paul Smith sent an out-of-this-world Fall and Winter 2011 menswear collection down the catwalk on the last day of Paris Fashion Week.

Gray trousers, jacket linings and shirts bore a pattern that seemed to combine leopard print with the crater-pocked lunar surface; large polka dots on other shirts symbolized the full moon. Some jackets were made out of actual aluminum, while traditional tailored sport coats had collars with zip-in metallic hoodies that recalled the crinkly foiled look of NASA's Apollo modules.

Knit watch caps lent a '70s-era U.S. Navy vibe, while zippered embellishments around trouser legs looked straight out of Hanna-Barbera's early-'60s space age cartoon "The Jetsons."

Other offerings included toggle-button coats (hands down the hottest trending outerwear piece on the runways of both Milan and Paris this season), outsized furry jackets and cool blue collarless chambray shirts.

Many of the looks were accessorized with long, dangling chains bearing silver charms that seemed sourced from a cache of good luck talismans (a wishbone, a twisted pretzel) and a tool box (a hammer, a pair of calipers, a sextant).

It felt like a natural follow up to his cosmic rocker Spring and Summer 2011 collection, but backstage after the show, Smith said it wasn't the glowing orb in the nighttime sky that was the initial inspiration for the collection, but rather a specific constellation of 70s-era musicians.

"When I started working on the collection a year ago, I was interested in exploring Frank Zappa, the Yardbrids and Captain Beefheart -- I just really loved that posh rock era and that whole disjointed sound -- the randomness of it," he said. "There wasn't any fashion then; it was you just threw on these huge hairy jackets with these skinny trousers and off you'd go."

"And then, when Captain Beefheart died," Smith explained, "it seemed like an awfully dreary subject for a show. Then I remembered that Zappa named his daughter Moon Unit. And the whole interest in the space program dates to the same era [as the posh rock '70s], and I figured that was a pretty random thought so that's where I went."

As for those dangling silver necklaces? My guess was that they were symbols of the age-old navigational and exploratory skills our lunar pioneers used on their visits to the moon's surface. Smith offered a more down-to-earth explanation.

"Zappa and all those guys who lived up in Laurel Canyon back in the '70s, they all wanted to build their houses with their bare hands, do all that stuff by themselves," Smith said.

-- Adam Tschorn, reporting from Paris

Photos: Looks from the Paul Smith Autumn / Winter 2011 runway show at Paris Fashion Week. Credit: Jonas Gustavsson & Peter Stigter / For The Times.

Paul Smith's cosmic rockers shoot for the moon and beyond

Maybe it's because Roger Waters is restaging "The Wall" album in its entirety for a tour later this year, or because the isosceles triangle design dangling from necklaces and printed on T-shirts that came down the catwalk called to mind the iconic "Dark Side of the Moon" album cover art, but I left Paul Smith's Spring/Summer 2011 runway show in a distinctly Pink Floydian state of mind.

The trippy tie-die/watercolor designs scattered with geometric and planetary symbology called to mind the psychedelic cover art for Pink Floyd's 1968 album "A Saucerful of Secrets,"  and the blousy shirt silhouettes with floppy bows at the neck looked like the kind of clothes Waters, David Gilmour and company wore in late 1960s photos of the band.

Tom Ford bets on Vegas for second U.S. menswear shop

It's turning out to be a busy month for designer/director Tom Ford. Although his primary focus of late has been film -- his directorial debut, "A Single Man," starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore premieres Dec. 11 -- he's also been plotting to expand the retail presence of his eponymous menswear line, and today he opens a store in Las Vegas, just the second freestanding boutique in the country.

The 7,700-square-foot store, with an angular metallic facade that resembles the exterior of LA's Walt Disney Concert Hall, is located at the new Crystals retail center in the new CityCenter development. Fashion industry trade paper WWD reports the interior resembles that of the New York and Milan locations, with antique bronze and glass display cases, velvet sofas, and luxe touches that include a black marble fireplace, Ultrasuede paneled walls and a beaver rug.

Like the other stores, it will serve up everything Ford envisions the modern man of style could possibly need, with a dedicated shirting room, a sportswear salon, a perfumery (where you can have a custom-blended scent made), and a room dedicated to made-to-measure suits.

Other luxury stores slated to open at the Crystals include Louis Vuitton, Ermenegildo Zegna, Cartier, Kiton, Paul Smith, Versace and Tiffany.

As for more Ford stores, there's still no word on when a local outpost (which we first told you about last December) will open, although the Beverly Hills Courier reported last month that final remodeling plans for the 344-346 N. Rodeo Drive location have been finalized by the Beverly Hills Architectural Commission.

Tom Ford, 3720 South Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas

-- Adam Tschorn

Photo: Fashion designer-turned-movie director Tom Ford opens a 7,700-square-foot menswear emporium in Las Vegas today. It is in the Crystals retail complex, part of the CityCenter development. It's only the second company-owned freestanding Tom Ford store in North America, following the New York City location, which opened in 2007. His first movie, "A Single Man," adapted from a Christoper Isherwood novel, premieres next week. Credit: Simon Perry.

Paris Fashion Week: Paul Smith and the power of positive thinking

PARIS -- As an unrepentant recidivist optimist, I appreciated Paul Smith's Spring/Summer 2010 collection, not only for the clothes, but also because, as the last major show on the men's Paris Fashion Week calendar, it took us out on a high note, managing to hit on several of the major themes from both cities  -- the varied hues of blue, the sheer, gauzy fabrics, the wrinkled, crumpled look, the emphasis on prints, the subtle references to weather -- and making us tap our toes and crack a smile and remember that it's always sunny above the clouds.

That last line may sound trite, but the invitations to Smith's show, as well as the backdrop at his show, featured an image of puffy white cloud cover and blue sky -- the kind you see when you're on a plane at 30,000 feet winging your way to a tropical vacation, about 13 seconds after you begin sipping your first mai tai. It may be raining underneath those clouds, but up here? It's all good.

Although travel and tropical climes are a traditional subtext for the men's spring-summer collections, Smith brought it to the fore with his narrow-collared, tailored take on the aloha shirt -- some with travel-postcard prints, others with botanical prints of pineapples (and, oddly enough, mushrooms).

The pineapple motif, a traditional symbol of hospitality (not to mention a traditional anniversary gift to my better half, Mrs. Rage)  also appeared as embroidery, both on a silk varsity jacket and more subtly as tone-on-tone embellishment on the lapels of a shawl-collar tuxedo. 

There was much more in Smith's fruit basket -- a cornucopia of color that included electric blues, nearly blinding reds, powerful purples (this is where the leprechaun says, "It's magically delicious!") as if each of the color slices in Smith's signature stripe had suddenly gotten its own day in the sun.