Topman
Review by
George Reece
SS17
There’s a point in the expansion of any
enterprise when it becomes difficult to
innovate, to shock. Eventually with
success comes such a large and varied
customer base that pleasing them all
becomes a game of increasing banality,
reductive simplicity, and tedium. You
may be too big to fail, but you’re also
too big to succeed in any meaningful
way. That is why the boldness of
Topman’s SS17 collection comes as
such a pleasant surprise.
Photo: PR Shots
From a brand so firmly established on the
‘high-street’, one might expect nothing but
pleasantries, vague washes and gestures at
indistinct ‘vibes’, calculated to avoid
offending any section of their extraordinarily
broad public. Instead we get a pretty strong,
vibrant and cohesive set of looks, which pull
together in a kind of funky, tongue-in-cheek,
retro-Americana direction.
Take, for example, the silk shirts detailed
with ice-cream cones and eyeballs. They
wouldn’t look out of place in a ‘country
bunker’ bar serving ice-cold ‘beer’ and
offering ‘both kinds’ of music. Or the slim
white leather jacket adorned with roses
and a pair of archtop guitars. It’s
Graceland through-and-through. In fact
paired details and symmetry are a
Sleeves Magazine