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How I Moved From Topshop's Head Office To Becoming Instagram's Favourite Vintage Seller

Photo credit: Courtesy of Retold
Photo credit: Courtesy of Retold

From ELLE

After a decade of working in fast fashion, Clare Lewis performed a volte-face by starting her own vintage store Retold. After news of Topshop heading into administration hit headlines, we spoke to the former International Visual Merchandising Manager of Topshop and Topman about her journey from fast to slow fashion.

'I ended up on the Oxford Circus Topshop floor as a virtual merchandising assistant in 2005. It took 14 years, countless product launches, a handful of international store openings and a string of job titles culminating in becoming International Visual Merchandising Manager at the high street brand’s head office, for me swap fast fashion for something a little slower.

In the early days of working there, I remember the excitement of being at the heart of one of London’s busiest and most popular high street fashion shops. With dreams of becoming a fashion buyer after studying Fashion Information and Illustration at the Surrey Institute of Art & Design (now University for the Creative Arts), it was the perfect place to find my feet.

Long before customers walked in through the shop’s doors, the retail and visual teams would spend hours merchandising stock and making sure each dress, jacket and coat hung perfectly from the hanger. From arriving in the morning and getting to touch and familiarise ourselves with every item in store, to preparing for Topshop’s star-studded catwalk shows and "zeitgeisty" product launches, it was as fun as it was fast-paced.

Photo credit: Dave M. Benett - Getty Images
Photo credit: Dave M. Benett - Getty Images

In the early Noughties, working at Topshop made you feel like you were part of something innovative and fashion-forward. It was the place everyone - be it teenagers or fashion designers - wanted to work.

I was with the company in 2007 when Kate Moss launched her first collection. The elation in the Oxford Circus store was unbelievable; crowds lined the street for hours, if not to shop to catch a glimpse of the famous British model. Topshop was also one of the first high street brands to sell vintage, with a whole floor dedicated to small independent brands like Pop Boutique and experiences like in-store piercing and beauty parlours alongside live DJ sets - there was nothing else like it. I felt honoured to be a part of a team making history in the fashion industry.

Photo credit: CARL DE SOUZA - Getty Images
Photo credit: CARL DE SOUZA - Getty Images

Far from having some sustainability epiphany while working at the high street behemoth, I left the company in 2017 for personal reasons - I'd taken enough from both the role and the brand, and felt ready for pastures new.

In the months that followed, I began to sell the clothes I'd accumulated over the years. As I rifled through my wardrobes it soon became apparent just how much stuff I'd accumulated from my Topshop uniform allowance, sample sales and staff discounts. More poignantly, I received more joy from sending my clothes off to a new home than seeing them folded up alongside other high street items.

I've always been a collector of vintage. Even when my final role at Topshop required me to travel to the likes of the US or Australia, I'd always be on the lookout for a vintage store. When I left, I found myself questioning my next path in fashion and, with the extra time on my hands, I launched my online vintage store Retold in 2018.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Retold
Photo credit: Courtesy of Retold

In addition to my online sales, I began to trade at vintage fairs and soon found myself part of a community of people that were champions of sustainability. I gradually educated myself more on the subject, and soon, what initially started out as a job to provide financial support and keep me involved in fashion became a mission to make a real difference to how people shop.

It wasn’t long ago I thought there’s wasn’t anything wrong with the amount of clothes I consumed. Now each piece in my wardrobe is considered and loved, be it my favourite Reformation jeans I spend practically all my time in, my hard-sought vintage Hermès cable knit jumper, or the Max Mara teddy coat I pull out each winter.

While my vintage store bears little resemblance to Topshop, I’ve carried over invaluable skills into my current career from my time there: how I handle stock and create visual stories, the versatility and usefulness of the pieces I source and, above all, understanding that the customer is the main priority.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Retold
Photo credit: Courtesy of Retold

With Topshop’s parent company Acadia now in administration, it proves the need for the high street to evolve. I, like many other shoppers, enjoy the process of browsing and the physical spaces shops provide. But in order to successfully cater to customers and the growing desire for sustainable fashion, the high street needs to open its arms to a healthy dose of independent and second-hand stores. The high street must reflect a balanced closet that respects the old and cherishes the new. With Thred Up's latest report showing that resale is expected to overtake the traditional thrift and donation segment by 2024, perhaps this vision of a more sustainable British shopping high street may soon become a reality.

Big brands, like Topshop, need to take responsibility for their supply chains, listen to what their customers want and recognise how shopping habits have changed. But we too have a responsibility, as consumers, to demand a more sustainable retail sector, learn the importance of shopping for clothes we love rather than for trends, and to dispose of them responsibly at the end of their ‘life’. The high street has a lot of work to do but the buck doesn’t stop with them.'

How to shop more sustainably and ethically according to Clare Lewis:

  • 'Research where you spend your money to ensure your values are the same as the business' values - this takes time, but it's really important to do.

  • Use this time to evaluate what you need from your wardrobe, where you need to invest and what is missing (or not)?

  • If you need to shop on the high street (sustainability is not "one size fits all"). Buy things you know you are going to get enough wear out of.

  • Make sure whatever you buy, you love, to honour the people who have made those garments for you.

  • And if you end up not wearing an item as much as you'd hoped, ensure it gets into another person's wardrobe (via eBay, Depop, One Scoop Store, Manifesto Woman and more).'

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