Type 75 Floor Lamp - Paul Smith Edition Four

At the age of 16, with no career plans or qualifications, Paul Smith was propelled by his father into a menial job at the local clothing warehouse in his native Nottingham. A chance meeting with students from the local art college and talks of Mondrian, Warhol, Kokoshka, David Bailey led Paul into design. By 1976 Paul showed his first menswear collection in Paris under the Paul Smith label. In business for over 40 years Paul Smith had established himself as the pre-eminent British designer. He has an ability to anticipate, and even spark off trends not only in fashion but in the wider context of popular culture. He manages to transmit a genuine sense of humour and mischief mixed with his love of tradition and the classics. Paul Smith is continually involved in every aspect of the business and as a result, Paul Smith Limited retains a personal touch often lost in companies of a similar size.

Margaret Howell is a contemporary British clothing designer who started her business from a modest flat in South-East London over forty years ago. After graduating from a fine art degree at Goldsmith College, London in 1969 she began making accessories which came to the attention of Vogue and other fashion magazines, encouraging her to go onto designing clothes. Her London flagship store is also used for staging exhibitions that draw attention to aspects of British design, other than selling her label merchandise. In 2007 Howell was made a Royal Designer for Industry by the Royal Society of Art and was awarded a CBE for services to the fashion industry. In 2010 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from University of the Arts London; in 2013, Howell was awarded an Honorary Professorship from the University for the Creative Arts. Margaret Howell is now sold worldwide with flagship shops in London, Paris, Florence and Tokyo and has more than 100 outlets throughout Japan.