Why the British high street needs to listen to consumers

They were one of the first brands to nail the quick turnaround from ‘catwalks to sidewalk’

As a teenager growing up in London, my early trips to Topshop’s Oxford Circus store were like a weekly pilgrimage to fashion Mecca. Opening in 1992, the flagship changed the face of youth shopping, offering a cafe, a background of chart hits while you shopped and plenty of places for disgruntled parents and partners to sit and wait.

It was where I mutilated my ears with multiple piercings, dyed my hair varying pastel shades and bought a myriad of questionable outfits. I spent countless hours wandering around with friends – it was a perfect hangout spot – and ran in when I worked in the area to grab an emergency packet of sweets for a sugar hit.

More than just a shrewd shop experience, Topshop was one of the first brands to nail the quick turnaround from “catwalks to sidewalk”. They translated items seen at the ready-to-wear collections and distilled them into mass-appeal pieces, putting them into production mere weeks after the shows – and at an affordable price point. It meant the latest trends were available to everyone.

But, mercurial as the sartorial tide is, Topshop – along with its Arcadia brethren, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis – doesn’t seem to have caught up with the seismic change facing the retail industry today.

Group chairman Philip Green refuted suggestions that his retail empire narrowly escaped collapse, but admitted he wasn’t quick enough to adapt to the changing retail landscape. After all, in the face of competitor giants the likes of Asos, Missguided, Net-a-Porter and Matchesfashion.com, why would time-poor shoppers be loyal to brands without web-first business models? Convenience trumps loyalty, after all.

And, in the case of Green, allegations surrounding his workplace conduct – from racism to bullying and harassment – felt even more sinister when it came from the man helming brands aimed at young women.

The legacy of brands, much like the discussion that surrounds musicians or directors accused of misconduct, might be disconnected from the product but is increasingly important in our ever-woker age. We just have to look at the fall in shares Ted Baker suffered after the hugging scandal. Why would shoppers want to financially support a company that has allegedly allowed such things to go on?

This year exercise brand Sweaty Betty – which preaches female empowerment through their expensive athleisure wear – was revealed to have a whopping gender pay gap of 66 per cent. Now, when I walk past the shop just down the road from the newsroom, I feel angry at window displays that suggest it’s anything but adding to the problem.

You see, fashion is more than just fabric on our backs, it’s also the colours pinned to our mast, the face we show the world.

And now? Well, it has to be convenient, too.

Yours,

Harriet Hall

Lifestyle editor