Topshop: Ready to 'triumph' with Unique AW15

Following Topshop’s much awaited debut European flagship store opening in Amsterdam, the Netherlands earlier this year comes another milestone - the launch of Topshop’s high-end range, Topshop Unique AW15 range.

"We are very excited about our Unique AW15 launch,” says Geoffrey Finch, Creative Design Consultant for Topshop Unique, Boutique and special projects to FashionUnited, ahead of the global launch of its Unique Autumn-Winter ‘15 range which hits stores today. “There's always a lot of messages in a business like ours, but now seemed like a really good time to really introduce the Unique collection with authority to the market and get up close and personal with our customers.”

Topshop launches its Unique AW15 collection 'with authority'

Working closely alongside with Topshop’s Creative Director, Kate Phelan, the duo have created a collection that continues the Unique vision, built around the image of the Unique ‘girl’. "For AW15, you see our Unique girl - she's a bit of a posh girl - imagine her leaving the country estate and arriving in London and going to Annabel's,” explains Finch. “She's a capricious character, sort of looking at her British heritage with a new look.” This has been translated into a collection which offers rich floral prints, kilts with “a bit of leg” and evening dresses with velvet and ostrich feather detailing.

“The floral prints have thistles and dandelions on them, which are technically weeds, but they are incredibly pretty and feminine prints. There's a little hare hidden in the thistle print, so I think you can see the growth of the character through the collection and the multi-facet of the Unique girl. There’s an aran polo neck pullover, but the fit has been adjusted and we've added a nylon cuff. Unique is all about adding in these modern nuances to its collections. It's a lot of fun going through those tropes of British style and then dissecting them and bringing them out in new ways."

Although there is always a bit of crossover in Topshop’s collections, the Unique design aesthetic is based on British style, with modern riffs on British culture and subcultures as well, which gives Finch and Phelan plenty of room to play with when developing the collections. "There is a real opportunity for us to test ideas in Unique and see how we can innovate, which is a wonderful thing to be able to do,” explains Finch. “We see the range as another way to experiment with new ideas and new fabrication. It allows us to work with more luxurious elements and fabrics and trims. And then we are able to see how those ideas influence our other collections."

Topshop Unique has increased 'massively' over the years

Since it's launch in 2001, Topshop Unique has developed into a core range for Topshop, thanks to both Phelan’s and Finch’s vision for the range, recently expanding the number of collections per year to include pre-fall and resort for the first time due to customer demand. “I think we've seen it increase massively for our business,” notes Finch. “We've seen an incredibly strong performance from the range on Net-a-Porter.com as well.” However it is Topshop’s international expansion which seems to have Finch the most excited for Unique’s future.

“I think our international expansion is very exciting - I think that the London Fashion Week shows have helped us build on other exciting opportunities around the world,” notes Finch, as Topshop Unique has been showing during LFW since 2005. "It's great to see the new stores rolling out and seeing all the new product in these stores. It's always interesting and exciting to see how the Unique collection does outside of the UK. We are really looking forward to developing the business here in Amsterdam."

So what hopes does Finch have for Unique’s AW15 debut launch in Amsterdam today? "I hope that the collection is wholeheartedly embraced here," he concluded with a laugh. "We've had a wonderful response to the AW15 collection so far and I think that the people have genuinely connected with the clothes, so as a designer it's always really exciting. I am hoping that it is a triumphant launch." Topshop Unique AW15 is now available online at topshop.com and internationally in selected stores, with Unique's debut Resort 2016 collection arriving later this November.