It wasn’t until Look 17 that I spied her—although I wasn’t totally sure. The last time might have been in a regional nightclub in the mid aughts, or weaving through a busy high street. But here she was, ensconced in a faux-fur Dalmatian-print scarf, walking with purpose through London’s Trafalgar Square. Was it Joni, or was it Jamie?
Well, whichever of the denim demigods that once defined many a British millennial wardrobe it was, she marked a key tenet in the big comeback parade of Topshop (and Topman). The once beloved British retail giant made its big return on a muggy August Saturday, its first runway show in seven years.
The catwalk show featured both Topshop and Topman designs for fall winter 2025, on a cast of new and some unsigned models scouted by Wilhelmina Models London in an open casting call. With the National Portrait Gallery as its backdrop and the iconic Topshop doubledecker bus in the fore, most pieces shown were “see now, buy now” with others from a forthcoming drop on topshop.com, which launched a day previous. The show soundtrack started with Doechii’s “Anxiety” and Beyoncé, as well as the city’s own Skepta and Sault.
The Topshop looks included several pieces from Cara Delevingne’s edit, like a pea green faux-fur maxi coat and a borg patchwork coat, and a pleated, oversize gray suit. There was a suite of denim, from the aforementioned high-rise, skinny-fit Jamie and Joni jeans—the tides have truly been turning again toward the slimmer denim silhouette they once defined—and an embellished utility jumpsuit. There were kooky combos of Prada-esque pillbox hats, Ferragamo-style sculptural heels, and Valentino’s jewel-toned palette in the form of faux-leather bomber jackets and skirt suits, while a red moto jacket over a long-trained, red sequin gown gave elevated indie sleaze. There were polka tights beneath an arpeggiated-hem polka-dot skirt, dalmatian and cow prints, colors of aubergine, chocolate, and inky navy.
For Topman, grandad knits—some styled in novel ways, with a sweater wrapped around a model’s head like a Keinemusik gig crowd for fall—and barrel jeans. Formalwear and outerwear were the focus with a few playful, youthful takes, like a bottle green faux-fur bomber, a chocolate brown sheer shirt underneath a tailored suede jacket, and a tie knotted through the belt loops of a sharp suit. As well, embroidered jersey pieces and denim in shades of indigo, gray, and black. The models also carried doctor’s bags with fluffy faux fur.
While Topshop was founded in Sheffield in 1964, its true zenith was in the last two decades, where it brought the trends of high fashion to the high street. A design collaboration with Kate Moss set the industry standard for what’s now part and parcel of celebrity brand-dom, and partnerships with Christopher Kane and Meadham Kirchhoff will still set you back on eBay. At its peak, Topshop had 300 stores in the UK, 11 in the US, and 100 international franchises in Asia, Europe, and Latin America. The London flagship on Oxford Street, with multiple levels, a vintage curation, beauty treatments, and a DJ, was an institution for anyone finding their style in the mid-aughts.
Following the collapse of its parent company Arcadia Group, Topshop’s physical stores were shuttered in 2020, and the brand was sold to Asos in 2021. It is now under new ownership, Heartland, who have big plans for Topshop and Topman’s return: with topshop.com, and talk of a return to multi-retailer concessions coming soon and brick-and-mortar stores.
Despite the dull sky and frowsty air of central London, black cab horns screaming and throngs of bewildered tourists, spirits were high. “I would go to the Oxford Street store with my cousins on the weekend,” says Mimi, 25, from Blackheath. We speak briefly on the barrier, where she’s been queuing to get into the main pit to watch the show. She saw that the show was happening the day before on TikTok. “We used to just loiter in the basement and hang out. I still have a lot of my little tops that I still wear with jeans now. I remember I used to think Topshop Boutique was so posh.”
“I had so much Topshop in my wardrobe even though I never lived near a store,” says Pilar, 34, who is visiting from her hometown of Cádiz, Spain. “My Joni jeans weren’t the best for our home climate but I wore them anyway. You felt very cool, very London, when you wore Topshop.”
Part of what made Topshop great was the lives it reflected—and the lifestyle it was able to sell us back. The brand was synonymous with London culture and trends, from the Kate Moss collab to the then-newly-arrived It girl Cara Delevingne in campaigns, and its physical stores’ experiential merchandising, where racks would be divided by trends like “Boho” and “Indie.”
“I worked there, I saw it all,” says model Alva Claire, wearing the swishy polka dot skirt from the runway. “I’m excited to see the little platform heels come back, the classic, Topshop silhouettes. Everything mini, mini, short.”
“Going down that [Oxford Street] escalator, and being like ‘ahhh!’” says actor, model, and author Adwoa Aboah emphatically. “Topshop Boutique! Topshop Unique! Topshop Moto! Kate Moss Topshop! Topshop Celia Birtwell! The vintage, the shoes, going to Sharmadean’s WAH Nails!”
“It feels very observant of what people are wearing here and now,” adds Aboah. “I would wear a lot of it.”
Topshop arrives back on the scene while its high street and mall brand peers are struggling—Forever 21 filed for bankruptcy in the US, and Claire’s Accessories has collapsed into administration. Michelle Wilson, managing director of Topshop Topman, told press that the show and the return of the digital site is “more than a relaunch.” “It’s a reinvention. And this is just the beginning.” The goal will be both to enchant millennials once again, and draw in Gen-Z shoppers, against a very different backdrop. Nostalgic charm alone can’t propel the brand’s reboot back to its mid-00s heights or ignite those once frenzied Oxford Street queues, but DJ sets and a bar of canned cocktails and Blank Street matchas continuing into the evening keep the party going on Trafalgar Square.
