Review｜Hello, My Name is Paul Smith 靈感無處不在

“同樣位於華山 1914 文創園區，展間也同樣有著大面積的粉紅，然而 Alessandro Michele 的粉紅終究和 Paul Smith 的粉紅不同。如果說，《A Day Curated By》表現的是設計師人生的片段靈光，以及他為了某個特定主題的才華展現，那麼《Hello, My Name is Paul Smith》呈現的則是更完整的設計師生活—-他的靈感來源、創作空間、作品呈現，在這裡可以看見一個更完整的人的形象。”

“Situated in Huashan 1914, and as well has giant pink walls in the exhibition rooms, the pink of Alessandro Michele and that of Paul Smith’s are exactly different. If ‘A Day Curated By’ represents the aura of the designer’s life, then ‘Hello, My Name is Paul Smith’ displays a more complete view of the designer’s life: where his inspiration comes from, his working space, the presentation of his work, and etc. Here, you are able to see a more intact image.”

《Hello, My Name is Paul Smith》 該屬近期台灣最熱門的時尚展覽了，熱門到應該不必多說，無論已經觀過展的、還在觀望的、沒什麼興趣的，應該都在社群媒體上被洗版了好幾輪。

展覽的內容豐富精彩，但更讓我驚豔的是策展的細膩。

魔鬼藏在細節裡。

設計師的人生時間軸與各個展間的主題明確而相輔相成、觀展動線流暢有條理、展出的物件可以籠統地有個大概的認識，也可以細緻到每一個擺放、每一幅選擇都有意義，端看觀者的用心。

簡單來說，這是一個細節的展覽、一個「流動」的展覽。

“Hello, My Name is Paul Smith” is probably the most popular fashion exhibition in Taiwan lately. No matter for fashionistas, exhibition goers, fashion lovers, or people without any interests, most of the people might probably have been raided by photos on social media these days.

I love the exhibition. It is rich in content, has really clear timeline and concepts, and possesses different possibilities of interpretations.

It is an exhibition of details. It is an exhibition of “flows.”

從藝術牆可以看出 Paul Smith 這麼多年來受到的啟發以及收藏。

這幾幀照片記錄了我很喜歡的幾個畫面：應該是在博物館裡認真觀看資料的女性、簡單的線條勾勒出或許是 Paul 的深刻輪廓、移動中的腳與不對稱的鞋、世界地圖、身著紅洋裝的厭世霸氣女孩站在紅色的牆前，還有 Patti Smith，我一直很喜歡的美國作家／歌手。

On the art walls, Paul Smith’s inspirations, works inspired by him, works generate by his inspiration and his collections, are all displayed.

These photos record some of my favorite scenes: woman reading her handouts in front of an iconic wall in a museum, the silhouette of perhaps Paul with slightly several lines, feet in motion and the unpaired shoes, world map, the girl in red leaning in front of a red wall, and Patti Smith, one of my favorite American writer/ signer.

展間裡大面大面的藝術牆，可以一覽而過，也可以一幅一幅細究；可以將它當成 Paul Smith 靈感的背景，而它也可以是 Paul Smith 靈感的來源及本體。

非常喜歡藝術牆的設置，因爲它有千百種探索的可能。

I really like these art walls, for there are numerous possibilities of exploration. It can be viewed as the background of Paul Smith’s inspirations, and it can also be deemed as the exact being of Paul’s inspirations.

〈走進 Paul 的腦袋裡〉 是整個展覽中我最喜歡的一個展間。

多媒體的運用加上鏡子的空間設計，彷彿呈現出 Paul 大腦中的各種鏡像與想法。

「靈感無處不在，」Paul 說，「不要追隨潮流。運用你的觀察力，發掘日常生活中大大小小的各種啟發。」

圖釘、鉛筆、影子，各種日常生活裡大多數人熟極而無感的物件，都成了設計師靈感的來源；螞蟻、蜜蜂、義大利麵等日常存在，可以是襯衫上重要的圖像，而大自然的景物也成了布料上的花紋理路。

影片的推移，讓置身其中的人能感受到流動，無論是 Paul 思考的流動，或是日常生活中時間的遞進。

在 Paul 的腦袋裡，讓我印象最深刻的莫過於他實在不太會畫圖，因此許多設計稿都用文字呈現。這讓我覺得被鼓舞，好像只要能表達、能溝通，任何形式都不會是問題，也不該是問題。

“Into Paul’s Head” is my favorite part in the whole exhibition.

The usage of media and mirrors seems to interpret the operations of Paul’s head, of his imagination, inspiration and reflection.

“Inspiration is everywhere”, said Paul. “Don’t follow trends. Use your own observation to find inspirations in your daily life.”

Normal and even tedious objects in our daily lives, like pins, pencils, and shadows, might seem boring to most people, but their shapes and arrangements are indeed inspirations for Paul. Ants, bees and pastas can be printed on shirts, while natural patterns can be embroidered on fabrics by Paul.

In this exhibit room, I do feel flows as the video moves on. The flow of Paul’s thoughts and the flow of time in real life are distinctly experienced.

When in “Paul’s head”, I’m totally impressed by the fact that Paul is not good at drawing, so he usually uses words as his sketch. This is quite inspiring for someone really bad at drawing like me. At this moment, I couldn’t help but think, maybe forms are not that important as it seems, only the utilities to express and to communicate matter. Form is not the problem, which also should not be.

Paul 的工作桌上亂中有序，mood board、服裝、模特樣印、能激發靈感的小物、雜誌、書籍，無奇不有，抬頭一望、低頭一看，還有許多小巧思；Paul 和不同企業的跨界合作，也展現了他強大的創新創造力。

時尚不是固著，而是流動的，就如同這個展覽所塑造出來的感覺。時尚設計並不僅限於布料與服裝，在汽車、腳踏車、書封、水瓶、檯燈、相機等等日常器物上，都能翻出新意。時尚就是生活。

“Messy in order” is the phrase popping up in my mind when first spotting Paul’s studio. Mood board, fabric samples, model photos, portfolios of the last seasons, small inspiring objects, magazines, books, and everything you can and cannot imagine are all on Paul’s studio table. When you look up or gaze down, details are there awaiting to be found. In addition, in cross boundary cooperation section, Sir Paul showcases his grand creativity on all kinds of utilitarian stuffs.

Fashion is never solid, rather, it’s fluid, just like the flows this exhibition tries to convey. Fashion designs are not circumscribed to fabrics and clothes. Fashion is everywhere, on automobile, bicycle, book cover, water bottle, desk lamp, camera and every object in our daily lives. Fashion is indeed life.

Paul Smith 鮮明的色彩和童趣的印花已然成為品牌的標誌，童心未泯像是品牌的代名詞，而忠於自我、對自己正在做的事情保有熱情與開心，或許是能堅持藝術的最重要原因吧。

The vibrant colors and playful prints have already become Paul Smith’s signatures. Remaining sincere and playful is like a synonym of the brand, whilst true to oneself and keeping passionate and excited about what one is doing, might be the core reason for art’s being.

Paul Smith 展間裡的每個人台手指都很有戲，就像設計師本人一樣鬼靈精怪，不放過生活中各處任何細節。Paul 不喜重複，就像全世界的 Paul Smith 店面裝潢與擺設更領風騷一般，展間裡人台的手指造型也無一雷同。細節的價值。

Gestures of every mannequin differ in the exhibition. They are just as playful as the designer himself. Paul Smith isn’t fond of repetitions, so no matter it’s for the decoration and interior designs of his shops worldwide, or tiny to the mannequins’ fingers in the exhibition, nothing is the same or even similar. Details do matter.

回到《Hello, My Name is Paul Smith》展覽本身，展間的巧思與細緻程度都讓人很享受，整體的流動也讓每個展間的主題一環扣一環、層層推進。仔細一查，原來這個展是由倫敦設計博物館的專業團隊所策劃；回顧五月的《A Day Curated By》展同樣也由國外藝術家所策。什麼時候台灣也能有關注到每個部分的細節與質感，且能深入淺出的時尚藝術獨立策展呢？

Back to the exhibition, “Hello, My Name is Paul Smith” itself, all the ideas and details are enjoyable; the overall flow also glues all the parts, subjects and concepts of the exhibition. After exploring the life and inspirations of Sir Paul, I coundn’t help but wonder who the curator is behind this awesome exhibit. It’s curated by professionals at Design Museum in London. Dated to the exhibition, “A Day Curated By” in May, which I as well liked a lot, was also curated by foreign artists. When will there be detailed and quality fashion exhibition curated by Taiwan on its own?