A bright candy pink may be this season’s preferred colour for many a die-hard fashionista, but the Paul Smith boutique on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles has flaunted this striking hue for more than fifteen years. The colour is inspired by the way Mexican architect Luis Barragán (1902-1988) used colour in his work, and perfectly embodies designer Paul Smith’s optimistic ethos and philosophy. Unsurprisingly, the building has not only become an architectural landmark, but also an icon of the easy-breezy California lifestyle. As of late, the shop’s façade has been updated, with a stripe trompe l’oeil effect to be precise, to coincide with the brand’s brand new Signature Stripe campaign. The mural design is created by Paul Smith‘s in-house design team, but executed by Overall Murals, a New York City-based collective of sign painters and muralists with a penchant for contemporary visual culture. The vast mural took six painstaking days to finish, using a whopping 15 gallons (approx. 57 litres) of paint which had to be custom mixed by eye to match the 40 different colours that make up the Signature Stripe. And speaking of the new campaign, the Signature Stripe is a true Paul Smith icon and a tribute to the designer’s love of colour, and this season, it’s featured on a wide range of men’s and women’s knitwear, accessories, shirts and bags.
Paul Smith
8221 Melrose Avenue (West Hollywood)
Los Angeles, CA 90046
Telephone: +1 323 9514800
Mon-Sat 11am-6pm
Sun 11am-5pm
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
