Latest news with #JacquiMarkham
The Guardian
06-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
‘Women designing for women': the new wave dominating UK high street
The health of the British high street is a much-discussed topic in fashion. The latest secret weapon set to resuscitate the sector? A wave of female designers at much-loved brands. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. Jacqui Markham, previously the design director at Topshop and Asos, was named the new creative director at Whistles last week. She joins Maddy Evans, promoted to director of womenswear at Marks & Spencer this year, and Clare Waight Keller, the former Givenchy designer who joined Uniqlo last year. Meanwhile, Cos, the fashion insiders' current favourite, has had Karin Gustafsson at the design helm since the brand began in 2006. All of these brands have seen a boost in recent years. That has been in part thanks to items that go viral. In the Lyst hottest products for Q1 of 2025, an influential list of items fashionable consumers are searching for, Uniqlo's £3.90 red socks and Cos's £75 barrel leg trousers featured alongside designer items. Whistles – and its parent company TFG, which acquired the brand in 2016 – will be hoping that Markham can be the magic bullet. The brand was founded in 1976 and had a golden era in the 2010s, under the stewardship of high-street whisperer Jane Shepherdson. But hype around the brand has quietened recently. 'With the retail market so saturated, it is more important than ever for us to stand out,' says the product director, Camille Sullivan. 'Jacqui will be key here.' Sullivan says the 'women designing for women' factor is powerful: 'I believe our team's lived experiences help us understand and relate to our customer and what she needs in her day to day life.' Catherine Shuttleworth, a retail consultant and the chief executive of Savvy Marketing, agrees: 'Nobody knows how women think and behave and shop better than other women, in my opinion.' No discussion of the high street now can happen without mentioning Topshop. The much-loved retailer (and its menswear arm Topman) closed its stores in 2021 after a buyout from Asos took it online. It announced it would be coming back to stores in March to an outpouring of nostalgia. The first move will be a pop-up later this month. Announced on social media this week, all slots to visit the store have sold out. The team at the brand is mixed gender, with managing director Michelle Wilson, product director Deanna Iannello, head of design Steven Andrews and Moses Rashid, global marketing director. Wilson says this recruitment had been crucial. 'We're now in the position to operate as standalone brands, delivering great product, designed in London with our London lens,' she adds. Joy Montgomery, the shopping editor at Vogue, says they need to be careful when it comes to the nostalgia factor. 'I don't think high street brands that have heritage can rely on that alone,' she says. 'Look at the archives, but then what layer do you add on to that?' Wilson says they are focusing on the spirit of the brand. 'Topshop was always the go-to accessible fashion brand for cultural tastemakers,' she says. 'It was about unlocking the best of fashion for everyone.' Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion Meanwhile, Waight Keller's switch from luxury to high street is revealing when it comes to job prospects for designers. In the past year or so, high fashion has been called out for the lack of female talent in the top design jobs, with recent vacancies often going to men. The high street appointments shouldn't be seen as solving the problem, however. 'There is something to be said for having that diversity,' she says. 'But there is a bit of a risk that you put all women into a box which is more utilitarian or for masses, and that can be dangerous.' There are signs that silo-ing between high street and high fashion is over. Along with Waight Keller coming to Uniqlo, there has been movement the other way. Louise Trotter, who began her career at Whistles, was named creative director at Bottega Veneta in December, while Kate Phelan, who worked with Topshop, was named creative director of Harvey Nichols. Shuttleworth says this is down to a shift in thinking. 'Good retailers are starting to look for [designers] in a much more interesting ways. High street brands come in and out of fashion so, to retain their place, they need fantastic talent.'
Fashion United
29-04-2025
- Business
- Fashion United
Whistles names former Topshop design head as creative director
British fashion retailer Whistles has appointed Jacqui Markham to the newly created role of creative director. Markham, who will take on the position immediately, has been tasked with elevating the brand's design direction and wider creative vision. Starting off in the industry as a designer at Oasis and Karen Millen, Markham went on to first become design director for Topshop and Topman, before taking on the same title at Asos and Urban Outfitters Europe. She had also served as a design consultant for Topshop and Studio Jack over a number of years, and had, until recently, reverted back to that role on a freelance basis, according to her LinkedIn. Markham will report to product director of Whistles, Camille Sullivan, who said Markham's extensive experience would be 'instrumental in driving both the brand and our product offering forward in our next stage of growth'. In her own statement, meanwhile, Markham expressed plans to 'bring a fresh spirit to the brand' by 'channelling the visionary ethos set by Lucille Lewin [Whistles' founder, ed.] and building on the contemporary yet effortless, signature style of Whistles'. Markham's appointment at Whistles comes as the brand embarks on a strategic repositioning of its label, with further expansion to focus on key markets in the UK, Ireland and the US. The brand, which had been acquired by TFG Brands (London) in 2016, already boasts a notable retail network of 37 standalone stores and 76 concessions, and is present at department stores across the UK, US, the Netherlands and Germany.
