$195 for a t shirt, Paul [i]really[/i] has seen you coming 😉
"Paul Smith Reflective Shirt - We're not the only one's who'll see you coming. £195"
Paul is s very keen cyclist and has been doing collaborations with Mercian and Rapha for many years. It might be expensive, but he has a long standing relationship with cycling and is not simply cashing in on the recent surge in interest. I'm a great fan of Paul Smith shoes and clothing and the quality has always been excellent.
Your sincerely
P. Smith
Well, it's a lot more understated than I was expecting...
Definitely from the Department of How F***ing Much! Even were I the lucky recipient of a very large lottery win, I couldn't justify to myself spending what is really an obscene amount of money on some average-looking cycling gear.
Most of my RaceFace, Endura and Sombrio kit was bought in sales to get it as cheap as possible.
Maybe he's identified that no other real fashion brands have yet got involved in "the new golf" so he thought he'd make a claim on the top end. If other fashion brands were already there I think PS stuff would be on a par with Rapha pricing wise as he only really commands an approx 50% premium over high street but this is proper premium Prada-esque money.
Good luck to him but I've got to say it's a bit half ar$ed without any proper shorts/bibs/etc on offer.
Ted baker now also have a cycling range taking the middle ground with M&S & H&M doing the lower mid level with cycling specific jeans etc.
It was only a matter of time they saw cycling as their new target audience.
We don't have to buy it thow 🙂
He's a cyclist and a world class clothes designer.
And one of his biggest markets? Japan. Where clothing is taken very seriously. And where they too love cycling.
This seems a very sensible business decision. Whether they are veblen goods, I'll leave to others to decide. But probably not STW's "Men at Aldi"....
All rather bland looking kit innit...
I do quite like the idea of riding to work in a jacket worth more double the value of my bike seems like a fantastic reversal of "Value" IMO...
I'm sure DHB will be bring out [s]copies[/s] similar looking but separately inspired garments...
meh, PS is probably a very astute business man. he'll know what it costs to make, how many they'll sell, what margins they want to make. if they don't sell enough they'll drop their prices, if they sell plenty they probably won't.
just because its the bike industry, it doesn't mean they have to act like a charity.
I couldn't afford it (or theoretically many high end bike bits and pieces) but I'm not bitter about it - i just wouldn't buy them.
would be ok if it wasn't in such D.U.L.L colours!
fail!
The website looks very similar to Rapha's (last time I looked). I wonder if marketing and sales are being handled by Rapha, and they're taking a cut.
I did a quick search for Schoeller C-Change fabric and came across a review on road.cc for a Mission Workshop Orion jacket. The reviewer reckoned it was pretty good, but there are a few comments complaining about the plain look and price of £285. Paul Smith's jacket made from the same material is £550. I think it looks good, and it seems to be a decent fit. The model is 6ft 1" and is wearing a small jacket, and sleeve length looks fine on him. I'm 6ft and would normally wear a small, but usually find sleeves are too short. If performance, fit and quality are top notch then it might be worth splashing out. However, the 'name' and fashion-side of it isn't something I aspire to, and I think they're charging a fairly hefty premium for it.
Wonder where this stuff is made? I have just bought some Lusso bib tights for £50 that are made in the UK.
I don't believe much Paul Smith clothing is made in the UK, certainly the jacket I bought a few years ago (which was Collection) was made in Belgium. Very nicely made, but in Belgium. And cost quite a lot more than the cycling stuff.
