Top of the shops! Inside the great Topshop revival

It was London's fashion mecca, loved by everyone from off-duty models to bargain-hunting teens. Now it's back: are you ready?

- BY JOE BROMLEY

When the invitation landed in inboxes, fashion insiders' Whatsapp group chats all but combusted.

It was the hottest May 1 on record, but the only thing anyone could talk about that day was confirmation of a badly kept industry secret: Topshop is coming back to the high street. Yes, really. “This is your invite to the first IRL event by Topshop in five years!” read the silver letter, the words “Topshop in the house” emblazoned across it. It also gave away the fact this return will be gradual.

In its 2000s heyday, thanks to the creative chops of Jane Shepherdson and Kate Phelan, millions made the pilgrimage to Oxford Street's “big Topshop”, which was a veritable cathedral for cool kids. Kate Moss might have been posing as a mannequin, in a red evening frock, launching one of her collaborations. Or Beyoncé’s Ivy Park might have taken over the store, a 100,000 sq ft mini city which attracted 400,000 customers each week before lockdown. In its place today you will find flat-packed furniture and fridge freezers full of meatballs, now Ikea has opened its doors there.

Far smaller in scale will be Topshop’s “Ibiza-inspired” private comeback bash on May 8, in the Shoreditch basement of the Defected Records shop, “with a nod to the legendary basement parties of its flagship Oxford Street store”. Then on May 10, for one day only, the public are invited to visit the underground pop-up from 10am to 6pm, and gain access to the new Talamanca summer collection and limited-edition £35 Topshop x Defected T-shirts.