Paul Smith unveils Royal Opera House collab, plus latest in Mini link-up

Paul Smith is known for doing ‘something special’ for the festive season and this year that means a link-up with the Royal Opera House. But at the same time, the designer is also continuing his partnership with BMW’s Mini car marque — so two very different collabs to discover.

First the Royal Opera House festive partnership that “celebrates the spirit of creativity and cultural heritage”. Launching on 6 November, this “first-of-its-kind collaboration brings together two icons of British design and the arts, united by a shared commitment to colour and storytelling”. 

It also “reflects a global outlook rooted in British tradition and sets a new benchmark for creative engagement between fashion and performance,” we’re told. 

Key to it is the Royal Opera House Christmas Tree, personally designed by Sir Paul Smith. Located in the historic Paul Hamlyn Hall, the tree is a celebration of the festive season, “inspired by the magic of performance and the behind-the-scenes artistry that brings productions to life. Paul Smith’s design offers a playful take on another festive performative tradition – the act of wrapping and unwrapping”. 

In some ways it’s a no-brainer link-up as Paul Smith has long had a Covent Garden store (since 1979 in fact) close to the ROH’s home.

So as well as the tree, the Paul Smith takeover incudes “a host of seasonal activities at the Royal Opera House, daily from noon”. The company didn’t give details of what those activities will be.

It comes as the ROH and its sister group, the Royal Ballet, forge closer fashion links with the latter having this month launched a fashion collab with premium retailer Reiss.

Meanwhile, the new Mini Paul Smith Edition is the next step in the successful collaboration between the two British brands. The new edition for the Mini Cooper Family “stands out with a unique look featuring a British twist”.

The designer repeatedly uses Mini as a motif on exclusive pieces in his collections and this latest edition will also see a capsule collection of bags inspired by details from the latest Mini collab.

Following the Mini Strip in 2021 and the Mini Recharged by Paul Smith in 2022, this new link-up takes in both electric and combustion engine models. 

It’s being premiered globally at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo on Wednesday and features “exclusive exterior colours, sophisticated accents and unexpected details”.

As well as historic and contemporary externe colours, inside, there are knitted surfaces on the dashboard and door panels while Paul Smith fabrics in tone-on-tone stripe patterns serve as inspiration for the special structure of the dashboard. The Nightshade Blue sports seats are made of Vescin and have knitted textile in the shoulder and headrest areas. Drawn from the Signature Stripe, the decorative stitching on the steering wheel’s textile band is designed in bright colours. The Mini logo at the front and rear is offered in newly designed Black Blue. On the black horizontal handle strip at the rear, there’s Paul Smith’s signature.

There are also other ‘hidden’ details that only surface in certain circumstances.