A Treasure Hunt For Joni Jeans - Topshop's long awaited return.

Frilly socks and three pairs of pants for £10. What more could a 14 year old want? 

Now you weren’t cool if you didn’t carry your P.E kit in a Topshop bag (or Hollister, but that’s for another time). But that meant you had to make a purchase, so what was it going to be? A pair of Joni jeans and a t-shirt plastered with ‘Geek’ or ‘Nerd’? A lipstick that Zoella recommended and a plasticky raincoat in the most insipid mint colour? Or maybe a parka coat and a pair of wellie boots Alexa Chung style? Topshop was the ‘it-girl’ store without a doubt. 

You can imagine the frenzy I went into when Topshop dropped their bombshell teaser trailer on Instagram this week, hinting at the possible reopening of a high street location. I mean who wouldn’t interpret an industrial rooftop and Topshop sign that way? When you think about it, their marketing team has really succeeded. It got everyone talking, I’d shared it to at least 10 people in the first 5 minutes of seeing it. Could this be the return of Highstreet giant? No. The social media post really was promoting an ‘audacious fan-fuelled art installation and treasure hunt’ and hinting at the return of their e-commerce platform. Personally, I was underwhelmed.

www.topshop.com landing page, hinting at it's return.

It’s been 5 years since the stores closed, I had my COVID-19 jabs in the shell of what was the Brighton location, I picked the outfit for my first ever date from Topshop, a navy blue corduroy mini skirt with a zipper down the front, and I can hand on heart say that the high street hasn’t been the same since.

Sure, online shopping is more convenient, I can look at exactly what I have before buying something new, but it will never replace browsing through rails, picking up the latest pieces and exploring every nook and cranny of a Topshop store. There was something so different about the atmosphere of Topshop.

We were reintroduced to Topshop through ASOS, but I struggle with scrolling through endless product pages, hoping a review will sway my final decision. I cross my fingers hoping that this announcement is secretly testing the waters for something bigger and better.

The art installation is a fun gimmick, who doesn't love a treasure hunt, but it’s not a real comeback, if anything it ultimately highlights what we lost rather than what’s returning. No online relaunch or clever marketing campaign can recreate what those of us who grew up with Topshop felt when we walked through those doors. 

Maybe this is just the start of something bigger - but until then, my high street still feels incomplete.