It was a meteoric climb to the top: just six years after Smith opened his first shop in Nottingham, a menswear collection under the Paul Smith label was shown in Paris. In 1979 he opened a fashion shop in Covent Garden and, since then, his reputation has continued to soar – with a knighthood in 2000 reflecting his long-term success. In 2013, the Design Museum will celebrate not only the career of Sir Paul Smith, but also the process by which his collections are created.