topshop does it again

 

 

…dresses, where upon I became embroiled in a guns-at-dawn style standoff with {mosimage}another TopShop-oholic over the only remaining size 8.

 

Many fabulous wears later, teamed with my super skinny jeans and copious amounts of black eyeliner, I arrived back in Bournemouth to realise that no one was quite ready to appreciate my Beatnik inspired look just yet.  This is the place after all, where the velour tracksuit still reigns supreme!  Five days and twenty-nine e-Bay bids later, my modest £40 I had purchased it for, grew to an incredible £70.  Has everyone gone utterly crazy for TopShop?

 

It is unquestionably the name on everyone’s lips.  Born in Sheffield in 1964, as a small department in Peter Robinson, TopShop has become Britain’s most acclaimed retailer on the high street and now has more than 295 stores in Britain. 

 

{mosimage}Under the wing of the retail giant Philip Green, TopShop has transformed itself from a ‘value’ retailer, to become the jewel of the high street.  It is a pioneer in retail innovation, with its landmark Oxford Circus Store having been described as the ‘ultimate shopping experience’.  Its services include; in-store style consultants, soundproof changing rooms, TopShop to Go, with up to 100 items delivered to you, to try on at leisure, TopShop Express Vespas, delivering up to five items to your door within three hours, and a garment text reservation service.

 

Its most recent offering was the opening of its Oxford Circus store from 6pm last Thursday to 6pm Friday, thus becoming Britain’s first clothing retailer to open its doors for 24 hours.  It was publicised as a one-off event to mark the refurbishment of the store, although it is more widely believed to have been an experiment into the viability of 24 hour opening on the high street as a permanent entity.

 

According to the store’s brand director, Jane Shepherdson, they are hoping for a ‘party atmosphere’.  A party atmosphere!? Has this woman ever been to a pub or club on a Saturday night before? If so, she clearly overlooked the brawling men, the girls lying near unconscious in the street, the kebabs and burger sauce. Oh and not forgetting the unpleasant consequences of one too many.

 

Add plans of 24 hour drinking licenses to this and I can only foresee a complete security (and cleaning) nightmare.  In fact; put me, alcohol, TopShop and my credit card together and the consequences would be quite unimaginable!

 

TopShop continually strives to keep ahead of other high street brands, and has been making impressive headlines since its high profile catwalk debut at London Fashion Week last month.

 

{mosimage}It was the most sought after ticket at LFW and attracted an impressive front row of celebrities and socialites.  It was a showcase of the Unique spring/summer 2006 collection, which was introduced three years ago to allow the chain’s in-house design team to explore their full creative potential.  Prices of garments ranged from £45 to £165, showing that high fashion can be accessible to everyone. 

 

It was undeniably a riotous success for Philip Green and his TopShop brand.  Green has proved that the British fashion industry is still firmly at the epicentre of fashion innovation and creativity, and with today’s announcement that Green has paid himself what he describes as a ‘relatively small’ £1.2 billion bonus, the future could not be more promising for the group.

 

Is there any stopping Philip Green and his diamond in the Arcadia crown?

 

By Vikki Hassett