The very English ritual surrounding the Topshop Unique show feels rather like the first day back at school. There are the weary seniors just arrived from the New York collections; over there are the fresh-faced enthusiastic juniors who ve barely been to a show before; and there s Sir Philip Green and his family, Topshop s owners, observing who s present and correct. Then everyone knocks back cocktails and Champagne for an hour, and it s finally —oops, yes!—on with the show.
One notable absentee was Kate Moss, because this collection, designed by the in-house team led by Nick Passmore, has nothing to do with the model s forthcoming Topshop launch in April. Neither, in fact, has Unique much to do with the highly popular fast-moving merchandise that is Topshop s core appeal—it s more of a separate stab at a higher-priced collection available in limited quantities.
This season, the team settled on its own translation of a Biba-esque Art Deco theme. It was full of fit-and-flare dresses and coats with perked-up shoulders and belled sleeves, austerity-era geometric prints on satin, and long hand-knitted cardigans and vests. The best part of the show was the one item that leapt clear of all that—a pair of high-waisted black flared denims with deep, shoe-covering cuffs. Judging by the reaction—as all girls know, it s no mean achievement to come up with a newly flattering jean—Sir P. ought to be ordering them up in bulk overnight.
