Paul Smith + Pop Trading Company

“I am looking forward to good a reason to wear that suit for sure,” Ric says on the topic of his favourite piece in the collection. “It’s a unique suit in my opinion, the seersucker fabric is amazing, and the cut is beautiful. It’s definitely something we could’ve never have created without the two brands coming together.”

Peter, on the other hand, has his eyes on the reversible pop-over hooded jacket. “The fit is nice and boxy (like myself) and you can go two directions with it,” he says. “I love the multi-coloured duo branding on the blue side as well. Gives me a bit of that Liam Gallagher vibe wearing it, you know?”

While we’re on the subject, colour, of course, is another important factor – as it is in all of Paul Smith’s collections. And so, the pieces are available in a quintessentially ‘Paul’ palette of orange, lime green and plum, creating a point of difference in the usually muted realm of skate style.

Then there’s the Tulip print – a reworking of one of Paul’s pioneering photoprints which first appeared on a Paul Smith show invitation in the 1990s – which nods to the designer’s love of the flower as well as Pop Trading Company’s Dutch roots.

“The thing that really excites me about this collection is that Peter and Ric were able to see the archive with fresh eyes and were inspired enough to create something that feels thoroughly contemporary but with roots in the past,” Paul says. “The way we’ve blended Paul Smith codes like colour, stripes and tailoring with Pop’s more relaxed silhouettes is seamless.”

To mark the launch, we caught up with the Pop Trading Company skaters – Pascal, Logan, An and Willem – to ask them what they love about the sport and when they feel like they ‘earned their stripes’ as a skateboarder.

What do you love about skating?

It’s a cliché answer but the best thing about it is hanging out with your close friends at skate parks and spots.

When would you say you ‘earned your stripes’ as a skater?

I wouldn’t say I have really earned my stripes in skating, but earning money now from it is really crazy. Especially that I’m able to say my profession is being a “skater”.

What do you love about skating?

The freedom it has given me. I used to play football at high level, so I was training every week, doing what my coach wanted me to do. When I started skateboarding, I realised… I could try whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted so it really changed me as a person. Now that I’m skateboarding on a more serious level, I get to travel to really cool places like Tokyo for this collab and I meet so many nice people who’ve got like the same vision as me. I feel really blessed.

When would you say you ‘earned your stripes’ as a skater?

This question is a little hard for me, but maybe when people started telling me that they liked the way I skate, I started really feeling like a skater I could be proud of.

What do you love about skating?

A freer vision, a wider horizon.

When would you say you ‘earned your stripes’ as a skater?

Who is the best dancer on the dancefloor? Not the specialist.

What do you love about skating?

I love skating because it's really cool. It allows me to be outside with my friends and have a lot of fun. There are no rules. I can do it whenever I want to. It's a good feeling to be able to push yourself to do certain tricks and roll away from them.

When would you say you ‘earned your stripes’ as a skater?

I'm not sure whether I've earned my stripes to be honest. I've been doing it for quite some time now. Over the course of over 20 years I've done some tricks that I'm proud of. Maybe that comes close to 'earning stripes'?