In 1976, Paul Smith headed from London to Paris to show his first ever menswear collection in a friend’s apartment on Rue de Vaugirard, and it marked the beginning of his twice-yearly spot on the French fashion calendar. This season, Smith swapped Paris for Milan, making his debut on the Italian capital’s schedule. Following his return to Pitti Uomo last year, three decades after his inaugural show in Florence, the British designer continued to make his mark on Italian soil with a collection steeped in a “personal history of travel.”

Taking place in the company’s Milan headquarters, guests were invited to take a seat in an intimate salon-style setting as models ascending the stairs of the atelier. Telling a story of summer voyages spent scouring vintage markets the world over, sun-bleached hues and eclectic collages lie at the centre of the brand’s SS26 offering. Shirts, outerwear, and ties arrived in vibrant prints of hand-assembled collages built from photographs taken by Paul while double-breasted jackets and blousons were adorned with appliqué motifs. Tailoring was reminiscent of traditional 1950s silhouettes, cutting a contrasting figure with cropped blazers and high-waisted trousers paired with racing driver-esque sneakers on foot. Meanwhile, accessories were reminiscent of those found souvenir hunting on your summer holidays, as trinket-like metal charms adorned belts and berets and vintage-style hotel room key fobs swung from belt loops.