According to design and development director Gordon Richardson, a cornerstone of Topman s business is the parka, so it s clearly one of the design team s ongoing challenges to refresh the item season after season. Fall s early warning signs already suggest that the idea of exploration is a key inspiration, which meant Topman was ahead of the curve with its trip to the top of the world. Huge parkas with matching deep-pleated cotton drill pants evoked vintage images of the gentleman explorer. Peacoats printed with Tibetan patterns and knits woven with the om symbol hinted at the Shangri-la he might find when he reached his mountaintop. The shift in the show s color scheme from winter white to rich Buddhist oranges and fuchsias made the journey even more vivid, with a blast of George Harrison s "What Is Love?" to reinforce our traveler s spiritual enlightenment. But this is, after all, Topman, the male arm of fast fashion s highest-profile emissary, so the temple bell s ring is echoed in the cash register s ka-ching. Which meant that the Himalayan hooey was ultimately in the employ of gussying-up smart city tailoring and canny accessories. Cute that the rucksack had pockets for a hip flask and a compass, more to the point that there was space for an iPad, too.
