And it's still one of London's hottest tickets
Since it’s launch in 2001, Topshop Unique has become the automatic go-to for a statement winter coat and the perfect party dress, as well as on-trend, sells-out-in-seconds pieces. When the brand graduated to take a coveted spot on the London Fashion Week schedule in 2005, it made the catwalk feel that little bit more accessible.
Over the years, the Unique shows have become the LFW lynchpin for energy on and off the catwalk. With it’s star-studded front row, and model line-up of achingly cool girls - with regular appearances from Cara Delevingne and Jourdan Dunn over the years - Unique is always one of the most hotly-anticipated shows on the schedule.
Since launching their innovative live streams, everyone can get a front row view of the shows, which have been staged at some of the most iconic London show spaces: from the Tate Modern and the old Eurostar terminal at Waterloo, to bespoke tents in Regent’s Park and Bedford Square.
In celebration of another stellar Topshop Unique LFW show today, we’ve taken a look back into the Unique archives and have re-discovered some of our favourite catwalk moments.
Spring/Summer 2006 Topshop Unique’s catwalk debut in September 2005 was the most talked-about show in London that season. In the begginnging, it was designed by an in-house team of 14 young women, and led by a woman named Nick Passmore. The collection was an ahead-of-its-time nod to atheisure, with its boxing-influenced hooded playsuits and judo-style jackets.
Autumn/Winter 2010 The one where Unique went wild with faux fur. From leather parkas lined with shaggy shearling, to woolly eyebrows, the attention to detail didn’t go unnoticed by the fashion critics who lavished the quirky woodland-themed show in praise. Now under the creative direction of Emma Cook, Unique took on a fantastical new direction.
Spring/Summer 2011 One season later, the look focused on 70s disco princesses and provided further proof that Unique was all about bringing fantasy and escapism to fashion, one rainbow-haired model at a time.
Spring/Summer 2013 By 2013, Unique took on a much more literal runway narrative. When British Vogue’s Fashion Director, Kate Phelan took the reigns, she steered Topshop in a slicker, more minimalistic direction. The colours were monochromatic, the cuts were sharply tailored and Cara and Jourdan were staking their claim as the Topshop squad.
Autumn/Winter 2013 The brand teamed up with Google+ to live-stream its autumn/winter 2013 show, and the cameras captured the event from every conceivable angle - literally. There were even ‘model cams’ so you could see what the runway looks like through the eyes of Cara and co.. It was another resounding ‘yes’ from the fashion industry, and the camera’s captured every brilliant minute of it.