Fabulous’ Style Director, Tracey Lea Sayer shares her ideas.
I WAS 10 when I initially found the utter delight of high-street looking for clothing with my mum and nan.
Entering into town on Saturday ended up being a household custom– a women’ day out we would anticipate all week.
My mum’s preferred store was M&S, where she would look at coats with huge shoulder pads and flower sundresses, while my nan would make a beeline for John Lewis and their timeless coats and stylish court shoes.
I was all over Tammy Lady– Etam’s little sis– and Chelsea Lady, which was later on rebranded to high-street favorite River Island.
I would invest hours in the altering spaces, viewed acutely by my 2 cheerleaders, who provided the thumbs up– or thumbs down– on what I was trying out.
Frilly ra-ra skirts, duster coats, polka dot leggings, puff balls, boob tubes … I attempted them all, typically making my nan growl with laughter.
Style wasn’t so quick back in the 1980s and every product was treasured and used up until it broke down– actually– at the joints.
At 18, I went to art college and my tastes ended up being more fine-tuned.
Additional money from a part-time task in a bar implied I might proceed to somewhat more costly shops, like Storage facility, Miss Selfridge and the capital that was Topshop.
I understood at this moment I wished to operate in style due to the fact that the high street had completely seduced me.
One day, I composed a short article for a competitors in a shiny mag about my love of shopping and my preferred LBD– and I won!
That led me to where I am today– Style Director of Fabulous
It’s not simply me that enjoys the high street– prominent designers are fans, too. When Cool Britannia struck in the ’90s, they all showed up in one huge shop.
Designers at Debenhams was a stroke of genius by Debenhams CEO Belinda Earl, designer Ben de Lisi and style director Spencer Hawken, who presented diffusion varieties from John Rocha, Matthew Williamson and Betty Jackson, among others.
This implied we might all pay for a little bit of high-end and use a widely known designer’s signature design.
Years later on, I hosted a night with Debenhams and Fabulous for 250 readers, who feared conference all the designers. It was a genuine profession emphasize for me.
In 2004, H&M began presenting their global designer collabs.
Karl Lagerfeld was initially, followed by Roberto Cavalli, Marni, Stella McCartney, Maison Martin Margiela, Sonia Rykiel, Comme des Garçons, Balmain, Versace and lots of, much more. I might hardly include myself!
Then in 2007, Kate Moss introduced her very first collection with Topshop, with thousands queuing along London’s Oxford Street.
I keep in mind sitting behind Ms Moss and Topshop employer Philip Green at a London Style Week Topshop Distinct catwalk program.
I had my three-year-old child, Frankie, in tow and we both made the news the next day after we were papped behind Kate, my supermodel woman crush.
At the time, the high street was on fire. Who required designer purchases when Mango equipped tin foil pants much like the designer Isabel Marant ones and you could purchase a little bit of Barbara Hulanicki’s famous brand name Biba from Topshop?
High street shops even began to storm London Style week.
Although Topshop Distinct had actually revealed collections given that 2001, in 2013 River Island revealed its very first collection in partnership with worldwide super star Rihanna, who was flown in by a buddy of mine on a personal jet. KER-CHING!
An entire brand-new generation of high profile high street collabs followed.
Beyoncé produced Ivy Park with Topshop’s Philip Green and I even flew to LA for Fabulous to shoot the Kardashian sis in their bodycon “Kollection” for Dorothy Perkins.
I am delighted to state they were the outright dream cover stars.
Quick forward to 2024 and while the high street does not look precisely like it did pre-Covid, it has actually made a gallant resurgence.
Shops like M&S, Reserved and Zara, and designer collabs like Victoria Beckham X Mango and Rochelle Humes for Next are offering me all the feels.
The grocery stores have actually truly entered their own, too, smashing it with beautiful collections that look costly, however at rates that still permit us to pay for the weekly store.
The last thirty years of high street style have actually been one huge experience for me. Cause the next 30!
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