A man-sized style statement from the Hockney-inspired Paul Smith

The round horn-rimmed spectacles worn by the first model that stepped out on to Sir Paul Smith's catwalk yesterday were a clue to the identity of his muse for spring/summer 2008 – the artist David Hockney.

"My missus was at college with him in the 1960s," said Smith after his show at the Royal Horticultural Halls in west London, referring to his wife, Pauline, who studied at the Royal College of Art. "It was a very exciting period and Hockney dressed in such a great way – but without necessarily spending much money. So really these are clothes for modern-day Pop artists."

That explained the explosion of sun yellow and swimming-pool blue in Smith's collection, not to mention the androgynous striped boating blazers in fresh seersucker or white shirts worn with white bow ties. A backdrop of half-painted canvasses and a freeform jazz soundtrack set the scene.

Smith launched his career as a menswear designer, so it is no surprise that mannish tailoring and crisp shirts were strong in this show. A striped rugby shirt was transformed into a sweet summer dress, while a tuxedo became a white linen jump suit. Jackets were trimmed with contrast-colour grosgrain ribbon, and high-heeled sandals in patent were equally bright.

More feminine were silk-satin shirt dresses and parkas, which picked up on the week's trends for a peculiar shade of peeled-prawn pink, and loose, sporty cover-ups. In the second part of the show, Smith abandoned Hockney and instead looked to Vanessa Bell, the Sitwells and the Bloomsbury Set for the inspiration behind narrow, floral-printed dresses long enough to touch the floor, worn with piles of plastic bead necklaces.