Fabulous’ Style Director, Tracey Lea Sayer shares her ideas.
I WAS 10 when I initially found the utter happiness of high-street searching for clothing with my mum and nan.
Entering into town on Saturday ended up being a household custom– a ladies’ 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 classy court shoes.
I was all over Tammy Woman– Etam’s little sis– and Chelsea Woman, which was later on rebranded to high-street favorite River Island.
I would invest hours in the altering spaces, saw acutely by my 2 cheerleaders, who offered 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, frequently making my nan wail with laughter.
Style wasn’t so quickly back in the 1980s and every product was valued 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.
Bonus money from a part-time task in a bar implied I might proceed to a little more pricey shops, like Storage facility, Miss Selfridge and the capital that was Topshop.
I understood at this moment I wished to operate in style since the high street had absolutely seduced me.
One day, I composed a post 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 likes 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 manage a little 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 released 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 lady 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 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 because 2001, in 2013 River Island revealed its very first collection in cooperation with worldwide super star Rihanna, who was flown in by a pal 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 actually entered their own, too, smashing it with beautiful collections that look pricey, however at costs that still permit us to manage 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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