London is one of the main fashion centres in the world. Of course, it doesn’t surpass the world-famous Paris and Milan, but it can boast a large number of popular brands. Clothes from their collections attract with their originality and uniqueness. Sometimes, designers create unusual and incomprehensible projects, but this is exactly what modern society strives for. Original creations of local designers worthily represent the British fashion industry at world-scale shows. Connoisseurs of modern style create entire shopping centres routes. There is even a separate area in tourism, which involves shopping and familiarisation with the most popular stores. Thousands of people come to London for this very purpose. Learn more at londonka.
Dorothy Perkins as a centre of women’s underwear in the past
The story of the Dorothy Perkins brand began with the opening of its first small store in 1909. Women’s style of clothing used to be significantly different from modern ones. For example, at that time, such shops offered elegant corsets that emphasised the figure of every woman. The store sold elegant stockings, lace underwear and the above-mentioned famous corsets. A modern resident of London would be 100% surprised by its large assortment. It revealed elegant and, at the same time, shy female nature. Later, the world changed and supplanted elegance as an element of everyday social life. This affected the style of underwear too. They started to produce bras, which, at that time, rather covered the forms than emphasised them, and corsets disappeared from the shelves as well.
About 75 Dorothy Perkins stores were opened in different parts of England in 1939. The Second World War brought certain changes and halted business development. But in the 1960s, the number of stores in the country reached 257. From that time, the company began to produce clothes too. It is still aimed at real body types rather than model parameters. Dorothy Perkins presents a wide selection of clothes for short women or, vice versa, for those who are taller than 173 centimetres. In 1993, the brand released a new collection for pregnant women, which was focused on providing comfort during this period. There is also a wide selection of plus-size collections. In today’s world, the Dorothy Perkins company is known not only in London and Great Britain but also in many other parts of the world.
The outrageous and unusual style of the Topshop brand
The brand doesn’t have such a long history but it doesn’t mean that it is less fascinating. In 1964, the first Topshop clothes appeared in one of the semi-basement stores in London. The brand experienced ups and downs. At first, its clothes were popular, but then the company barely earned money to purchase materials. Despite all the troubles, Topshop began to gain popularity in the 1990s. In 2005, one of the brand’s collections was presented at London Fashion Week. In the same year, Topshop was recognized as the best fashion brand in Great Britain. That was the moment when everyone who worked for so many years to create something unique finally gained the first results. Well-known designers from all over the country started to join the creation process, so its collections surprised the audience at the shows even more. The brand’s clothes are distinguished by bright and extraordinary novelties that conquer customers’ hearts all over the world.
T. M. Lewin, a classic that conquered the modern world
T. M. Lewin has been producing a wide variety of shirts for over a hundred years. Thomas Levin opened his first store in London in 1898. At that time, he probably didn’t know that his name would become so popular not only in the city but also in the whole of Great Britain. Initially, the brand produced only men’s shirts. Their uniqueness was the presence of buttons. It was a revolution in the fashion sphere because, earlier, men put on shirts over their heads. People liked the new design and comfort of the brand’s clothes, so it quickly became popular. During the First World War, its activity was aimed at producing military uniforms. In 1993, the company began to use mail for sending orders and thus, expanding the boundaries of sales.
T. M. Lewin has started the production of suits and other accessories in a business style since 2005. In 2011, the number of brand stores in Great Britain increased to 100. Unfortunately, such an interesting and eventful story has a rather sad end. The global pandemic that began in 2019 contributed to this. In April 2020, the company suffered serious losses and realised that its chances of survival were quite small. In June, its representatives announced the closure of 66 stores, and later, the brand’s assets were bought by Stonebridge Capital.
From selling vegetables and fruits to one of the most popular clothing brands in the world
The history of the River Island brand began a few years after the end of World War II. It is interesting that the first store, which was opened in 1948, sold vegetables and fruits. Back then, it didn’t look like the first step in the fashion industry. Later, the founder of the brand, Bernard Lewis, decided to try producing various wool-knitted products. His three brothers joined the business and created the first name of the small company, Lewis Separates. The chain stores offered knitting wool and some women’s ready-to-wear items. Later, the founders decided to focus on clothes because they understood the needs of women in post-war England. In 1950, they sold the first designer long-sleeved blouse, which was made of white fabric and decorated with lace. In 1965, the company owned a large number of stores throughout the country. At that time, designers aimed at developing new styles of women’s clothing. Later, the name of the company was changed to Chelsea Girl. The most famous design of that time was the mini-dress, which was in great demand among the customers. Every day, the company offered new and creative ideas. Some of them were successful, while others failed, but the brand existed and was becoming more popular with each collection. In the 1980s, the brand founder’s son became a direct business participant. He developed a line of men’s clothing, which was completely new for the company that produced female products for many years in a row. In 1988, the two production lines were united under a new name, River Island.
At the end of the 20th century, the company began to develop rapidly. In the 1990s, River Island was one of the first in the world to start selling clothes online. The beginning of the new century was marked by the release of new brand collections. They included a line of children’s clothes, various accessories, clothes for pregnant women and exclusive perfumes. The company opened its stores in different parts of the world. Europeans have become the main consumers of the brand. They were looking forward to new collection releases and their interesting design solutions. River Island can be found in every major European city. The stores present both modern and creative models as well as clothes in the London style. Thus, while fashion connoisseurs stroll through shopping malls in search of original clothes, the company develops new designs and interesting formats.