Paul Smith at 80: Saturdays on the Shop Floor and a First Memoir

Sir Paul Smith turned 80 in July, and he is still working in his own shops. WWD reports that he works every Saturday on the shop floor of his store on Albemarle Street in London.

The British designer was knighted in 2000. He was later named a Companion of Honour, a personal award from the British monarch for service to the nation, and he is the first fashion designer to receive it. His name has long been attached to tailoring, and he has made suits for musicians and athletes, including Paul McCartney, David Bowie and the cyclist Bradley Wiggins.

In September, he published his first memoir. Titled Threads: My Life in Style, the book is published by Macmillan, a London publisher. It came out on 10 September, according to WWD, and the brand's own social media had promoted it as his first-ever memoir ahead of publication.

The business has a long-standing partner on the register of shareholders. Itochu Corp., a Japanese trading company, has been a minority shareholder for many years. A minority shareholder owns part of a company but does not control it.

His reach extends well beyond London. Paul Smith operates a store on Madison Avenue in New York, which spans two floors. According to the brand's website, the shop displays a vintage spoon chandelier and a mirror made from dominoes.

WWD's profile also finds him reflecting on his legacy, a theme that runs through the feature. It describes a designer who still keeps close to the shop floor, where customers and staff meet every week, rather than one who has handed the day-to-day to others.

For readers who know the name only from the high street, the story is simple. A designer who started with a single shop in London is now 80, still behind the counter one day a week, and has written down how he got there.