“She’s a style star with street spirit” was the thrust of the Topshop show, held on Sunday right in the heart of Soho in an industrial Leicester Square building with champagne on tap.
Bewildered crowds of tourists watched as Kate Moss (in black jumpsuit) arrived with her 14-year-old daughter Lila Grace, alongside Philip Green and other celebs, surrounded by a bevy of security guards in a melee that created traffic jams in the narrow street outside.
This was a “see now buy now collection” (76% of the 140 piece show was shoppable according to Vicky Lovelock, head of production). “It’s about driving interest and excitement – you want (the collection) to be creative”, said Jenny Garcia, head of buying, adding that currently the biggest sales in Topshop are for denim and knitwear, a small parade of which ended the show.
This was a glamorous collection to catch the limelight in every sense: red metallic trousers and tunics; backless kitten heeled satin mules; snakeskin bomber jacket; skintight strapless dresses; and oversize granny coats bedecked with jewelled pearly cuffs.
Showgirl flourishes were everywhere from silver trousers to fake mink coats and silver sequin dresses. Styling by Beth Fenton was assured and polished, matching sporty satin knickers and crystal embellished chiffon with oversize silver leather coats - a fast track to cool for style conscious urbanites. You could see insouciant party girls in bandeau tops or frothy marabou blouses head into the night decked in sparkling chandelier earrings and flirty skirts.
The new editor of British Vogue, Edward Enninful, said at the show that Dublin is one of his favourite cities - he used to hang out in The George and Lillies Bordello. Kate Moss was spotted introducing her daughter to him on the front row.
Elsewhere Irish stylists were enthusiastic about the collection, but complained that such key pieces were not always on sale in Dublin and limited online. In a weekend when furious anti-fur activists protestors attempted to heckle Naomi Campbell and others arriving at the Burberry show, Topshop began and ended in a very different spirit.
