Jonathan + Olivia‘s Jackie O’Brien has pulled off the retail score of the season and landed U.K.-based Topshop for her Ossington store. O’Brien is blowing out J + O’s back wall to create a 800 square foot Topshop boutique that will open to shoppers on Saturday, June 19 at 9 am.
“I don’t want to sound like a geek but I’m really excited to exclusively bring Topshop to Canada,” said O’Brien this morning. “It’s nice to be able to buy fast fashion and mix it with Jonathan + Olivia’s other designer labels like Alexander Wang and Isabel Marant.”
Speculation about which Canadian retailer would land the coveted high street collection has been swirling since the Bay announced they were in talks with Topshop last December. Holt Renfrew carried supermodel Kate Moss’ Topshop holiday line in 2007 but the Jonathan + Olivia debut will be the first full representation of its main line and Unique Boutique womenswear and shoe collections in the country.
“We’re a forward looking store that debuts new designers in Canada so it’s a good fit,” said O’Brien.
Only 11 other independent stores worldwide, including The Department Store in Auckland, New Zealand and Incu in Australia, have similar access to the collection. Previously, the closest Topshop for Torontonians was its sole U.S. store on Broadway in New York City.
O’Brien talked to other retailers who have launched the line and to avoid the boutique being cleaned out, she will be restocking the Topshop racks ever other day over the launch and bi-weekly after that. The Kate Moss collection and Topshop’s new cosmetics line will arrive at Jonathan + Olivia in the fall.
Launched in Northern England in 1964, the retailer now has over 300 stores in Great Britain and more than 100 international locations. Designer collaborations and accessibly-priced merch with high fashion flavour have put it on the global style map while its sponsorships of emerging talent have helped names like Erdem and Todd Lynn onto the London Fashion Week catwalk. [rssbreak]
