British fashion designer Paul Smith once aspired to be a professional cyclist, and his love for the sport has persisted over the decades. Paul Smith's Cycling Scrapbook presents assorted ephemera accompanied by Smith's casual commentary, with a brief foreword by Scottish cyclist David Millar.
Smith has an impressive collection of cycling jerseys, pennants, advertisements and publications specific to professional road and track racing. Chapter headings present themes and artifacts, including racing personalities, events like grand tours and one-day classics, Smith's own bicycles and what he refers to as "the look." He admires the individual histories of heroes like Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx, and Smith's friends among contemporary racing stars, including Mark Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins. Throughout, Smith's tone is conversational and self-effacing, even as he is honored to design the 2013 Giro d'Italia's maglia rosa (leader's jersey).
Visually stunning and wide-ranging, Paul Smith's Cycling Scrapbook elegantly marries Smith's admiration for the heroes of road and track cycling with his passion for design. --Julia Jenkins, librarian and blogger at pagesofjulia