Recognition vs. Reinvention: Exploring Topshop’s challenge to reclaim fashion

Topshop’s name still carries an air of cultural significance, indicative of a time when high street fashion could define not just wardrobes, but an entire generation’s identity. Its legacy is entangled in more than just clothing: it was a brand that set the tone for youth culture and shaped how fashion was experienced. As it attempts a return, the challenge lies in translating that cultural mark into a retail landscape that looks nothing like the one it once dominated.

For many Millennials, Topshop may conjure up images of meeting friends to try on armfuls of clothing in expansive fitting rooms. The fervour for the brand also extended beyond UK borders. Tourists occasionally travelled to London with the sole intention of visiting Topshop’s Oxford Street flagship, a store that reflected the brand’s identity in every detail – from ‘It’ girl-driven campaigns featuring figures like Cara Delevigne to the carefully curated playlists echoing across the shop floor.

Topshop’s physical spaces were themselves cultural landmarks, often ahead of their time. Features now only just being tested by competitors – like third-party concessions, styling suites and vintage edits – were already embedded in the London flagship years prior. According to Anna Woods, a former buyer who spent eight years at the company, fast decision-making and experimentation were central to its strategy. This agility allowed Topshop to be truly reflective of its time: a period moulded by platforms like Tumblr, music festivals such as Glastonbury and tastemakers including Alexa Chung and Pixie Geldof, loyal fans of the Topshop brand.

When leadership changed, so did Topshop

Behind the scenes, former employees remember a similar atmosphere. Woods, now founder of B Corp-certified resale retailer Positive Retail, recalls a workplace “led by creativity and freedom”, with real-life customers serving as muses rather than margins dictating direction. Under then-brand director Jane Shepherdson, leadership was described as supportive and forward-thinking, directly resulting in a culturally-relevant output. That atmoshphere shifted significantly, however, following the takeover by businessman Philip Green, the chairman of Topshop’s previous parent company, Arcadia Group.

Following the arrival of Green, who later faced allegations of staff abuse, it soon became clear that Topshop’s demise was near. Employees interviewed in the 2022 BBC documentary, ‘Trouble at Topshop’, recounted a marked change in workplace culture, describing unease and toxicity. Strategically, Green’s refusal to invest in the digital landscape, which was becoming vital to retail survival, accelerated the brand’s decline. While many former employees went on to successful roles at retailers like Marks & Spencer, which has notably reinvented itself and regained fashion market share, Topshop was rescued from Arcadia’s bankruptcy by Asos, shifting it to an online-only model.

The brand’s disappearance from high streets left a void still seemingly felt today. While Zara and H&M certainly hold financial power, they lack the tangible, community-driven appeal that once distinguished Topshop. It is thus fitting that the brand has leaned heavily on nostalgia for its relaunch. Delevigne, for example, has returned as its face, fronting campaigns and attending its fashion show, a nod to the celebrity-clad spectacles Topshop once staged at London Fashion Week. Its comeback also includes the reintroduction of signature denim styles, such as the Jamie and Joni jeans – once a Millennial staple, but potentially misaligned with the preferences of Gen Z, who famously declared skinny jeans “dead” just years ago.

Nostalgia-led revivals are not uncommon in the present day. Juicy Couture attempted to tap into the Y2K trend championed by Gen Z, while Abercrombie regained momentum by distancing itself from its exclusionary past of beauty-centric ideals. “Over recent years, we have seen a resurgence in brands that tap into consumer nostalgia, typically driven by influencers or celebratory culture,” Nielsen Harrap, director of location analytics at CACI, told FashionUnited. “Fashion always works in cycles. The likes of the ‘Dad Trainers’ from New Balance are growing in popularity, and we’ve seen Uggs and Birkenstocks make a comeback. Whether this can translate into a full retail store brand remains to be seen.”

Beyond nostalgia: Building long-term relevance

When it comes to Topshop, onlookers are hesitant to predict whether the brand can replicate its past success. The mid-market space is more crowded than ever, and ultra-fast competitors, such as Shein, dominate trend responsiveness. For Topshop, product assortment will be critical to shaping sentiment. “[The brand] needs to find a balance between success on the back of nostalgia while also offering good products at good value,” Harrap noted. “Marks & Spencer is a prime example of listening to consumers through being a data-driven organisation and adapting their offer accordingly, as have their collaborations. Topshop can learn a lot from the model they’ve employed.”

A key question is: who does Topshop intend to target? The Millennial consumer, once dedicated to Topshop hauls, has shifted towards quality-driven retailers or high street brands that have evolved over time. Gen Z, on the other hand, while heavily influenced by eras past, is a group that tends to drift between fast-moving, trend-led platforms and more conscious consumption, increasingly informed on sustainability. Both demographics have also become accustomed to discounting, leaving retailers with costly overstock that often ends up in waste streams.

Topshop’s return to the runway after seven years does highlight an ambition to generate hype, but, as Harrap noted, longevity will require more than returning icons. He added: “Abercrombie have slowly solidified themselves as a consistent brand off the back of their revival, outlasting the short-term nostalgia hit. Topshop needs to do the same – they can’t offer the same products as before. They need to see more than a Joni jean. As both Gen Alpha and Gen Z come of age, they will continue to want things right now, at the right price point and on their terms, while also wanting authenticity, accountability and sustainability, which isn’t easy for fashion retailers.”

On sustainability, critics argue Topshop may have missed an opportunity to distinguish itself and prove something has been learned over the years of its background existence. The subject is largely absent from its website, while its materials remain polyester-heavy. Given Asos – its former owner – faced greenwashing allegations that triggered an official investigation, silence on the matter may simply be a safe bet. Yet, omission could carry reputational risk.

Overlooking sustainability discourse

“We all want to believe we can go back to something we loved, but fashion’s moved on, or at least it should have,” Woods said. “While it’s easy to crave what Topshop represents, we can’t ignore what we’ve learned since – overproduction, the cost of chasing volume over values. Topshop’s managing director, Michelle Wilson, had said the brand’s higher prices reflect a more sustainable model, but when much of the Womenswear range is still under 65 pounds, and the most common material is plastic derived from fossil fuels, it’s hard to see the proof. Sustainability is meant to be the loudest conversation in fashion, yet revivals like this quietly ask us to forget what we’ve learned. So yes, celebrate the return, but also ask: what version of the future are we really backing?”

The question of retail relevance also lingers. High streets across the UK continue to grapple with rising vacancy rates and reduced footfall, particularly in the wake of the pandemic. Even Oxford Street, once home to Topshop’s flagship, is struggling with challenges, including the loss of VAT-free shopping for tourists. While local authorities are considering strategies to revitalise the area, such as pedestrianisation, it remains uncertain whether a Topshop return could meaningfully contribute to a rejuvenation, in a climate dominated by online shopping and depleting consumer confidence.

The brand has instead focused much of its comeback on a dedicated e-commerce site, separating itself from Asos. Chloe Tedford-Jones, apparel analyst at GlobalData, noted the move “should help the brand redefine its image and leverage nostalgia among former fans”. While signalling a “strong step forward in the brand reclaiming relevance and rebuilding its identity”, however, Tedford-Jones reiterates that the UK apparel market “remains challenging, with spend forecast to decline 1.1 percent in 2025, after a contraction of 2.5 percent last year”. She added: “Brands must fight extra hard to capture consumer spend. Therefore, Topshop’s success will depend on consistent brand storytelling and selective wholesale partnerships that reinforce rather than dilute positioning.”

‘The brands that thrive next won’t be the loudest…’

Topshop’s ties to Asos may complicate this repositioning. Asos has faced falling demand, declining financials and intensifying competition. Though its sale of a majority stake in Topshop came as an effort to strengthen its balance sheet, Asos has managed to retain some of the design and distribution rights over the brand. In a likely effort to disentagle itself from the Asos image, Topshop has set up ties with luxury and premium third-party wholesale partners across Europe, from Belgium’s Zeb and France’s Printempts to the UK’s Liberty, placing itself in a more top-end light.

For CACI’s Harrap, a wholesale strategy could prove advantageous. “With increasing costs, wholesale partnerships will help with supply chain optimisation and the ability to access a wider customer base in Europe and beyond, which is key in an ever more competitive global market. Picking Liberty as its UK wholesale partner shows an initiative to look at quality over quantity, and play into the Oxford Circus store heritage. Liberty as a London institution will certainly drive interest and exposure for the brand and access to an affluent consumer and tourist footfall, so product quality and design will be highly important as will the in-store experience for this exclusive ‘shop-in-shop’.”

As for standalone retail, Topshop management has not necessarily ruled such plans out. Reopening physical stores may help the brand differentiate itself from online-only competitors. Harrap observed: “The midmarket can be challenging. If Topshop can differentiate itself and give consumers what they want in the space, then it could elevate them above some of the mediocrity seen in midmarket fashion. They need to create a multi-channel brand experience for a modern audience. Appealing to both [Gen Z and Millennials] will give them more opportunity to succeed in a difficult market.”

Consumer expectations for physical retail have also shifted. Stores are no longer simply spaces for consumption, but increasingly sites for calm, connection and community. For Woods, the brand’s test lies in whether it can wholly adapt. She concluded: “The real opportunity isn’t in going back, it’s in building forward: better systems, better stories, better standards. The brands that thrive next won’t be the loudest. They’ll be the ones that align profit with purpose not nostalgia.”