Topshop returns to the high street, but can it get its cool back?

For teenage girls like me in the 2000s and 2010s, going into a Topshop store was like being transported into a fantasy world.

There was music! Makeup! And fashion! All under one roof – with Topshop clothes often found on the pages of Vogue alongside high-end couture.

But somewhere along the way, things went wrong.

“Topshop lost its cool,” said fashion journalist Amber Graafland.

“And when that happens, it’s hard. Fashion is a fickle beast, people move on quickly.”

Then in 2020, its owner, Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia group, collapsed. All of Topshop’s physical stores shut soon after.

But Topshop is now launching a major comeback.

Standalone stores are returning to the High Street, Michelle Wilson, managing director of Topshop and Topman, confirmed to BBC News.

And on Saturday, Topshop hosted its first catwalk show for seven years in Trafalgar Square, central London. Long-time brand muse model Cara Delevingne was among those there.

It seems absence (and nostalgia) makes the heart grow fonder. As rumours of Topshop’s imminent return have been met by a wave of affection on social media, particularly among millennials and Gen-Z.

But industry experts say it will take more than nostalgia to make Topshop 2.0 a success.

One of the challenges that Topshop will face is attracting a new wave of shoppers through the doors.

Its previous core following are now women in their late 20s and 30s, but it can’t just rely on them, says Graafland.

“They will need to work hard to entice younger girls in,” she said.

What might help, though, is the nostalgia trend that has taken over social media feeds and High Streets in recent months (Joni jeans, anyone?)

Topshop’s team, for their part, think they can attract both older and newer groups.

“We want to deliver for those that are nostalgic for a brand that they felt like they lost,” Wilson said.

“But we absolutely want to appeal to a new demographic as well.”

Then, there’s the fashion. For me, shopping in Topshop as a teenager made me feel like the ‘it girl’.

On Saturdays, you’d breeze through racks to find the one item that justified taking money out of your barely-there bank balance.

When you bought it, you’d act nonchalant. “Oh this old thing? It’s from Topshop,” you’d tell your school friends, as if you could afford it all the time.

And I wasn’t the only one. Huge crowds would throng to the London landmark store to witness the launch of new ranges from A-listers like Beyoncé and Kate Moss.

In the 90s and 00s, designers “used to laugh at High Street fashion”, said Wayne Hemingway, a designer and co-founder of Red or Dead.

“They couldn’t keep up with the trends. Topshop was the only one that did.”

Hemingway, who worked with Topshop through its heyday, said a large part of its success was down to the team behind it, including Jane Shepherdson, its hugely influential brand director.

“They brought in second hand clothes for example, that’s normal now, but back then it was seen as absolutely radical to have a shopping department store doing that,” he said.

“You had the collaborations, the London Fashion Walk catwalk, all this design and excitement at High Street prices. It was so fresh, everyone wanted to be part of it.”

But over time, what people were looking for changed – and Topshop didn’t always keep up, said Graafland.

“They offered that unique London look. Then the girls who shopped there grew up, and they didn’t want that look anymore,” she said.

“You cannot afford to take your finger off the pulse for one minute in fashion.”

She added that Topshop 2.0 would benefit from the fact its core aesthetic – the London girl look – is back in style, and that not many other retailers are offering it.

“If you look at the High Street now, there’s a strong Spanish presence, with the likes of Zara, and also a Swedish presence with H&M. When Arcadia collapsed, we lost that Britishness,” she said.

She added that a lot of the High Street is “playing it safe right now”, and that could also work in Topshop’s favour if can “get that cool edge back”.

Topshop’s team is confident that it can still win over shoppers with its trademark London-based swagger.

“We still think there’s a huge gap in the market for that,” Wilson said.

“The most important thing that we won’t forget, and maybe got forgotten about towards the end of the previous era, is that product is everything.

“It has to be the best quality product, the most fashionable product for our customer base, and bringing that at good value.”

Topshop’s popularity peaked in the heady years before the cost of living crisis. Its team are aware of the stiff competition it now faces.

A pair of Topshop jeans will easily set you back about £50, whereas Chinese fast fashion giant Shein offers jeans for about £17.

“If we’re just comparing Shein, then yes, I think most brands on the planet are at a higher price point than Shein,” Wilson said.

But she added: “We know that when we offer great fashion and great value for money then the product does sell very well, so absolutely no concerns about that to be honest.”

While Topshop might not churn out new pieces at the breakneck speed of its online-only rivals, in the past, it’s still faced questions over its environmental record.

For younger shoppers, this can be an important factor in deciding where to go.

Wilson, however, indicates the higher prices reflect a more sustainable model.

The firm’s focus, she said, is very much “on the livelihoods of people within the supply chain that we partner with and also the environmental impacts of the brand”.

After Sir Philip retail empire collapsed, the Topshop brand was bought by Asos.

You can still buy the items online on its website – but now, in-store shopping is coming back.

Topshop’s return to the High Street starts this month, with products set to be available to buy in certain stores.

But of course, the real interest is in the standalone stores which Wilson said are “definitely” coming back.

She wouldn’t give a date for their return, but said the aim was to open stores across the nation.

Topshop is choosing to relaunch at a time when the High Street continues to struggle. Just days ago, fashion accessories chain Claire’s collapsed into administration.

But Wilson said lessons have been learnt after what happened to Topshop 1.0.

“We’re just making sure we do it in the right way so that we don’t over-expand ourselves,” she said.

As for the stores themselves, it remains to be seen if they’ll have the same vibe as before.

For me, it was where I met friends after school, tried on eye shadow for the first time, and listened to DJs pumping out dance music.

In some stores you were able to order skinny caramel lattes, get your hair and nails done, and maybe even get a piercing or two if your mum wasn’t watching.

“Fashion is only part of the story. It’s about selling a lifestyle and an experience,” Graafland said. “There’s got to be that buzz around it.”

Topshop’s team say they won’t necessarily be replicating what it used to do, but rather, “finding ways to bring that into 2025 and do interesting things”.

Overall, the hopes are high.

“They will get the girls to the stores, I don’t doubt it,” Graafland said.

“The question is whether they can keep them there.”