The chain that democratised British fashion has lost out to Instagram and online retailers
2018 was not a vintage year for fashion. The crisis-hit House of Fraser and an embattled Marks & Spencer made headlines, as did a rising tally of planned store closures, and accompanying job losses, deemed necessary in a turnaround plan for New Look. The Orla Kiely brand, famed for its geometric prints, went into liquidation in September, while Dolce & Gabbana ends the year under serious pressure, having been dropped by important retailers after a racism scandal shipwrecked a fashion show planned in China.
But the most significant downfall to impact on the culture of fashion is that of a store still very much open for business. The undoing of Philip Green, and by association Topshop, is a watershed moment for British high street fashion.
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