LONDON - Effortlessly cool. That is Kate Phelan summed up in two words. She belongs to that special clan of women with innate style who look easily slouchy-chic in a simple parka, loose pants and slip on sneakers. Any other person would appear frumpy in the same combination but then again, Phelan is the creative director of Topshop.
The effortlessly cool Kate Phelan
Phelan has a solid fashion background. She worked at British Vogue for 18 years as co-fashion director before taking on the role of top dog at the high street giant in 2011. Her wealth of experience in styling and working with photographers like Nick Knight and Tim Walker helped her move focus from editorial work to conceptualising designs and collections without a hitch. Plus, her easy style is quintessentially Topshop.
THE TRUTH ABOUT KATE (MOSS)
The chance to interview the creative director came when I flew to London for the launch of Kate Moss for Topshop collection. We sat in the middle of the space where the Topshop press day was going on and what struck me about Phelan – after I got over how cool she is – was how grounded she was. After all, this is a woman who dresses supermodels and celebrities, including Kate Moss, for shoots on a daily basis.
With celebrity collaborations a dime a dozen these days, I wanted to know how involved the model was with the collection that bore her name. Phelan recognises how widely the word collaboration is used in the fashion industry but only had praise for the other Kate. She said, “Kate takes her fashion very seriously, whether in front of the camera or designing a collection, they are both equally important to her. Particularly with the Topshop collection as it’s about her, the clothes she loves and wears and the lifestyle she lives. It’s exciting to see someone approach a collection thinking purely about ‘Do I love it? Do I want to wear it?’ instead of thinking about how ‘I need to have casual wear or sweaters’ in a world where fashion is very organised. She delivers this sense of decadent lifestyle and wonderful source of beautiful vintage, mixed up with modern day to champion a confident young woman who dresses her own way and I think that’s a very powerful message today.”
She may be almighty Kate Moss but the supermodel was as involved in the collection as any other designer
We can certainly see that the collaboration is very Moss from the fringed jackets to bohemian maxi dresses, so how down and dirty did the supermodel get during the design process? Phelan smiled before divulging, “Kate was set up in her own design studio – round the corner from the Topshop office – and worked with the design and merchandising teams, and her friend and stylist Kathy England. They worked very consistently on the collection, right from the initial ideas and moodboards. When you see her working in the studio, she’s just like any other girl working in Topshop. There’s something endearing about seeing someone baring their soul to get something as good as they can get.”
Seems like Moss took to the designer role like a duck to water and Phelan agreed, “Even though Kate’s considered a model, her breadth of knowledge of fashion, style, photography and everything encompassing our industry is actually invaluable wealth of experience that she can bring to a collection. If there was something she didn’t like or didn’t think was quite right, she would always say that she wants it done again differently. Interestingly enough, she would always try the clothes on, to get to know ‘Do they feel like me?’. It shows her big commitment, there’s not an awful lot she gets involved in, she goes all the way when she does.”
UNIQUE – TOPSHOP’S BIG SISTER
Besides collaborations with Moss, Kate Bosworth, Adidas Originals and more, another important pillar of Topshop is the Unique imprint. The runway collection shown at London Fashion Week must be developed differently from the fast fashion seen on the Topshop store floors.
Behind the scenes at the Topshop Autumn Winter 2014 show
Phelan explained the essence of Unique: “When I joined Topshop, I wanted to hone [in] on creating a collection that had consistency and some sense of being and identity. Previously, we tapped in on being a reference and very changeable to make it fun and exciting, which was great. But I believe that with the focus and attention that Unique received both during fashion week and after, Unique is a big opportunity for us to hone in on a character, a persona for a collection that I always say that’s a big sister of Topshop.”
“Topshop is about fast, keeping in the moment, turning round quickly while Unique is about slowing it down, refining an idea and putting ourselves in that position where we stand shoulder to shoulder with other designers. We approach and design Unique in the same way, and think about resort and pre-fall. It’s an important part and one of the many things that make up Topshop and make it such an exciting brand.”
I couldn’t help but ask about Autumn Winter 2014 collection that was presented at the latest London Fashion Week. The creative director obliged: “It started with the idea of this nonchalant girl, this arrogant teenager – that feeling when you are 16 and think you can be whoever you want to be and there’s absolutely nothing in the way. This girl borrowed her mother’s fur coats and was trying to look like a lady but she was still a really rude girl. That’s the essence of her, that real sort of arrogance you have with youth. That’s something I’m in awe of, amazing power of youth, ability to be so confident and individual – that’s a celebration of that and also a reflection of Topshop.”
She then referenced the young girls going into the depths of Oxford Circus trying to find a thing that their friends won’t find, a look that makes them the same but different. Probably that’s what the high street brand is all about – finding inspiration from both established stylish icons and its customers and that’s exactly Topshop’s, and Phelan’s, winning combination.
The full Kate Moss for Topshop collection retails at its Knightsbridge and Ion Orchard stores. Topshop stores at VivoCity, Raffles City and Bugis carries selected items from the Kate Moss for Topshop line. For more information, go to sg.topshop.com/?geoip=home. Follow Topshop on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Topshop, Twitter @topshop and Instagram @topshop.