Think of leather footballs and you conjure up thoughts of the toe-breaking circular mounds of concrete that your great-granddad used to play heads-and-volleys with, right?
Trust Paul Smith to go and change all that. And with daring panache we have to say, as to tie in with next week’s World Cup, the designer has lent his unique and colourful imprint to the sport by crafting 200 fetching leather footballs.
What’s more, there’s even a charming short film to accompany the £200 piece of sports and design history. Directed by Oliver Hadlee Peach, it sees keepie-uppy specialist John Farmworth elegantly juggling the limited-edition ball across the brand's Westbourne House branch in London's Notting Hill - all while wearing a Paul Smith travel suit, grand brogues and a striking pair of socks.
Well, he wasn’t going to do it in a pair of old trainers and tracksuit bottoms, was he?