Paul Smith on working with model Malgosia Bela

The designer explains why his clothes look best when paired with the right personalities

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When I cast people for my advertising campaigns, I always want them to look at ease in the clothes they are wearing – do they look comfortable, confident and believable? Of course, it's about the look, but for me the key thing is personality. Does this person have a personality that looks appropriate for the clothes I design?

That was what I felt when Malgosia Bela tried on outfits from my new spring/summer collection. She looks great, of course, but she is such a character too. She was a very successful model in her 20s, in the 1990s, and since then she's become an actor, a mother and now has a new career in journalism, as editor-at-large for the new Polish edition of Vogue. So, she's not a conventional choice perhaps, especially as most fashion brands are still pushing a very young image.

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