Topshop collaborates with Central Saint Martins on reimagining iconic denim styles

Students of Central Saint Martins (CSM) offered up reimagined takes on Topshop’s iconic denim styles during a London Fashion Week runway event this season. Participants of the university’s MA Fashion were tasked with reviving the Jamie and Jonie jeans as part of a competitive project, with ten concepts ultimately chosen for display.

The finalists were narrowed down from around 50 design proposals that were initially submitted to a panel including Topshop’s leadership team and CSM lecturers. The jury then selected the winning designs, each of which were developed and subsequently opened CSM’s MA Fashion runway last week. The chosen students each received 1,000 pounds as a reward.

Among the looks presented were nightlife-inspired halter neck dresses, a reimagination of classic workwear, and flared jeans that drew on Nigerian heritage. The designers were Byungyoon Lee; Dede Arisekola; George Zverko; Macy Grimshaw; Maxina Brewer; Mie Mie Yin; Miki Matsuda; Serena Mangiatordi; Thomas Uhlarik; and Valeriia Krasheninnikova.

Topshop, which is currently undergoing a relaunch, said the decision to host the competition tied in with its “commitment to championing emerging talent”. The brand’s global marketing director, Moses Rashid, said the Jamie and Joni jeans played a huge role in the fashion industry, and this initiative “was about reinventing the story for the next generation”.

A similar sentiment was shared by CSM MA Fashion course leader, Fabio Piras, who said: “Working with garments as culturally embedded as Topshop’s Jamie and Joni are within British fashion heritage challenged the designers to respond with both sensitivity and boldness. What emerged was a set of proposals that honour the familiarity of these pieces while pushing them into new terrains. Navigating that tension has been a wonderful opportunity for our students to showcase their talent and the distinctiveness of the CSM MA Fashion approach.”