How Topshop became one of the most iconic high street brands ever

Final week, millennial hearts had been all aflutter as Topshop took to Instagram to announce “We missed you too” and “We’ve been listening”. The cryptic posts, which oscillated between the enduring Topshop and Topman logos, despatched the web right into a meltdown — may the Noughties excessive road staple be making a comeback?

Whereas we’re not totally certain what’s on the horizon — past the voucher treasure hunt that passed off in London this weekend and the revival of the model’s standalone web site — we do know that Topshop goes to be launched to a wholly new viewers.

However what occurs whenever you weren’t there for its heyday? Do Gen-Z know the significance of Topshop as a mecca of accessibly cool garments, within the days earlier than on-line procuring and viral micro-trends? It should be inconceivable to think about such a factor.

Whereas the model was under no circumstances excellent — it lacked dimension inclusivity and its then-owner Philip Inexperienced went onto to be accused of tax evasion, sexual and racial harassment amongst different controversies — for a lot of suburban younger individuals it supplied a primary foray into the world of trend.

Beneath, we have compiled a few of Topshop’s most iconic moments earlier than it disappeared from the excessive road and went into administration in 2020 to teach the youth of at present of its cultural significance. You’re welcome (and possibly you’ll spot your self in a photograph).

The Oxford Avenue flagship retailer

(Picture credit score: Getty Photographs)

While you converse to most millenials about Topshop, they fondly check with the large Oxford Avenue flagship as ‘massive Topshop’. It opened in 1994, spanning three flooring and 90,000 sq ft. It sadly closed in 2021, within the midst of the pandemic (it’s now set to be an Ikea) however for a few years it was a spot to satisfy, socialise and store. It had a DJ sales space, nail bar, hairdresser, piercing studio and foods and drinks stalls inside, which means you may spend hours inside along with your mates. It felt just like the epicentre of the universe, and was the beating coronary heart of the Topshop model.

The Kate Moss collab

In 2002, Philip Inexperienced purchased the Arcadia group (which owned Topshop, Miss Selfridge and Wallis amongst others). He first collaborated with Kate Moss on a spread for Topshop in 2007, at a time when movie star partnerships weren’t dime-a-dozen as they’re now. Hundreds of individuals queued up exterior the Oxford Avenue retailer to buy the gathering (keep in mind, this was pre-iPhone) and Moss herself made an look within the window, posing as if she had been one of many mannequins. It triggered a media-frenzy and has gone down in trend historical past, very similar to the garments which had been primarily based on objects from her personal wardrobe.

She went on to supply 14 collections for the excessive road model, up till 2010, earlier than a closing partnership in 2014.

The various different collabs

In 2003, Topshop turned a headline sponsor of the British Trend Council, supporting the NewGen program and trend expertise incubator Trend East. It started creating unique collaborations with rising trend designers resembling Christopher Kane, Mary Katrantzou, Jonathan Saunders, Meadham Kirchhoff and JW Anderson. Once more, this was manner forward of the curve for the time interval — it wasn’t commonplace for a designer to collaborate with a excessive road model. These things had been typically solely out there within the Oxford Avenue flagship retailer, and tended to promote out, serving to to launch the careers and standalone labels of many designers. In any case, who may overlook the 2009 Christopher Kane gorilla and crocodile t-shirts attire which had each cool-girl in a chokehold?

In 2016, Inexperienced teamed up with Beyoncé to develop her athleisure clothes line Ivy Park. On the launch date, so many individuals tried to buy the gathering that Topshop’s web site crashed. Nevertheless, she lower ties with Inexperienced in 2018 after he was accused of sexual and racial harassment, shopping for him out of the corporate.

The transatlantic connection

Topshop looks like a quintessentially British model, and it was — nevertheless, it managed to have big success in America resulting from its skill to package deal the ‘Cool Britannia’ aesthetic. It opened a flagship retailer in New York Metropolis in 2009, on Broadway in Manhattan, with Kate Moss and Sir Philip Inexperienced opening the doorways to crowds and queues of excited followers. On the time, Teen Vogue’s trend information director, Jane Keltner is quoted as saying “It is simply Topshop mania over right here”. The model additionally hosted a number of star-studded events with visitors together with the forged of Gossip Woman, Jay-Z, Jennifer Lopez, Debbie Harry, Jimmy Fallon and performances from Mark Ronson, Santigold and Adele.

It went on to open a number of extra shops within the metropolis and the remainder of the US, finally working in 37 completely different international locations at its peak, with over 500 shops worldwide.

The celeb followers

There’s little doubt about it — Topshop was *the* it-girl model of the period. Peaches and Pixie Geldof, Alexa Chung, Jaime Winstone, Olivia Palermo and Poppy Delevigne had been all big followers, carrying the designs and sitting entrance row on the London Trend Week exhibits. Everybody wore Topshop, from Princess Beatrice to Lily Allen — it managed to strike a high-low steadiness that match into everybody’s wardrobes, regardless of their fashion.

The style

In 2003, in addition to changing into a headline sponsor of London Trend Week, Topshop additionally arrange a catwalk present house in a bid to help younger expertise. In 2005, the Topshop Distinctive assortment made its personal runway debut, It was a design-led, in-house label and went on to make a reputation for itself within the designer world — fashions would come with Karlie Kloss, Cara Delevingne, Lara Stone, Erin O’Connor and Jourdan Dunn.

Topshop Distinctive remained part of the London Trend Week schedule till Topshop went into administration in late 2020. The Arcadia group closed all of it is shops, together with the enduring flagship on Oxford Avenue, and 2021 it was purchased by etailer big ASOS, with the remaining inventory bought by its web site.

Feeling nostalgic? Store 10 of one of the best Topshop buys out there on ASOS now.