Blog by TopDown Trading

The flower associated with youth and innocence is in full bloom on the high street...

Summer florals are nothing new in fashion, but this year one particular flower is taking over: the daisy. As the weather hots up, traditional black, white and orange daisy designs are flourishing, while more colourful interpretations are also in bloom.

Luxury fashion brands including Gucci, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen and Saint Laurent have pledged to stop using models under the age of 18.

The French fashion group Kering, which owns the brands, announced it would no longer hire under-18 models to represent adults on both the catwalk and in advertising campaigns.

“We risk turning the customer off by making them feel like we’re suggesting they be less hygienic. We’re going up against years of cultural conditioning here.”

I have a confession to make: I’ve been wearing the same black T-shirt every single day for two weeks now and I haven’t washed it yet. Anybody who knows me will realize this is very out of character. I’m a laundry addict. I get inordinate pleasure out of transforming my toddler’s mud- and applesauce-covered clothes into freshly laundered, neatly folded piles. And yet, I may hold off on washing this T-shirt for another few weeks. It miraculously looks (and smells!) like it was just cleaned. This $65 T-shirt is made by a startup called Unbound Merino, founded in 2016, that creates wool travel clothes that can go weeks without being washed.

When I was 14 or so, there was no greater thrill than a trip to Topshop’s Oxford Circus flagship. It was a gleaming fashion palace, filled to the brim with affordable delights.

Life in there felt fantastic and by extension, anything I bought added sparkle (literally sometimes, a standout purchase being a pair of iridescent turquoise heels) to my Home Counties teen wardrobe.

Later, at university, I danced through an all-nighter then made my way to the local Topshop branch to be first in line for its Kate Moss collection.

For anyone who ever shops for anything other than pure practicality (and who of us can truly make such a claim?), it’s this verve which a brand must inspire to keep us interested. That magic which you just really want to be a part of.

Sustainability is fashion's current greatest challenge and in recent years it's even become fashionable to be eco- countless brands have jumped on the bandwagon of consciousness and I’ve lost count of the number of press releases I’ve received from certain online retailers that are widely known to both engage in unethical practices and encourage a throwaway culture of fashion, yet are still trying to attach themselves to the cause.

Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp are about to change our shopping habits. Earlier this year, Instagram launched a new shopping feature in the US that allows users to purchase an item with a single tap of a button. The feature, which launched on March 19 in the US, allows users to buy products from fashion brands – including Burberry, Dior and Prada, as well as beauty labels KKW Beauty and Nars. With the new checkout feature, shoppers are able to select and pay for an item, all in one smooth process.