Editors' Top Reads: News from Topshop, eBay, My Sunday Ski and more...
Here are some of this week’s news and features highlights handpicked by TheIndustry.fashion team.
Ebay to buy Depop for £890m as it targets Gen Z shoppers
Ebay has acquired pioneering pre-loved fashion marketplace Depop from Etsy for £890 million as consolidation in the circular fashion space continues apace. The sale price is a significant discount on the £1.2 billion Etsy paid for Depop in the wake of the pandemic in 2021.
One has to wonder if this discount has a lot to do with the rapid rise of Vinted, which has overtaken Depop as the go-to platform and byword for buying and selling pre-loved fashion. Though Depop has been growing well in the US, in particular.
One also has to wonder if the rise of Vinted isn't behind eBay's decision to buy Depop. Ebay is the pre-loved fashion (pre-loved anything) OG and says the move is designed to give it access to a younger demographic. It certainly will do that and it's a better home for Depop than Etsy, which is all about providing a platform for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
Depop does have entrepreneurs on it, of course, but eBay's expertise in fashion (if you bought authenticated goods from eBay, you will know how good it is at this sort of thing) and its commitment to tech innovation could see Depop become a huge global force for Vinted to reckon with.
Lauretta Roberts, Co-founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief.
Topshop expands high street presence with 32 John Lewis stores
It’s official... Topshop is back on Oxford Street! For anyone who grew up during its early-2000s heyday, the stretch between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road wasn’t just a shopping destination; it was a rite of passage. Saturday afternoons spent queuing for the fitting rooms, clutching Joni jeans and armfuls of floral blouses, defined a generation of British high street style.
Now, as Topshop and Topman expand into 32 John Lewis stores nationwide, that cultural relevance feels firmly back in motion. The partnership also makes John Lewis the exclusive UK physical retailer for Topshop SS26 footwear, with around 130 key styles across womenswear, menswear and shoes landing in-store.
For those of us who remember Oxford Street at its peak, there’s a satisfying sense of coming full circle. Topshop may look different in 2026, but seeing it back in physical retail - specifically back in W1 - feels like a homecoming.
Chloé Burney, Senior News & Features Writer.
From Kate Moss to jeggings - a short history of Topshop as it returns in-store
Keeping with the Topshop theme, it felt only right to revisit the brand’s history as it returns to high streets across the country in partnership with John Lewis. A defining label of my teenage years (hello, Joni jeans), this nostalgic read takes us back to the brand’s early beginnings and the milestones (and challenges) that shaped its identity.
From its iconic Oxford Circus flagship to unforgettable collaborations with Kate Moss, Topshop helped define mainstream style throughout the 2000s and 2010s. For many, it wasn’t just a shop - it was a high street icon.
After several years operating primarily online through secondary platforms, the brand is stepping back into physical retail, reappearing in 32 selected John Lewis stores as it enters a new chapter. As Topshop returns to bricks-and-mortar spaces, here’s a look at how it became one of the most recognisable names in British fashion.
Sophie Smith, News Editor & Senior Writer.
The Interview: Cassie Easton and Ellie Lindsay-Wood of My Sunday Ski on building an authentic, high-performance, viral brand
It can't just be me who has suddenly found themselves addicted to Big Air snowboarding and Super-G skiing all of a sudden? And yes, even curling. Winter Olympics fever has gripped us all, as we watch in awe as teenagers with no ACLs to 40-plus mothers of three throw themselves down mountains or ice tubes pursued by drones in a bid for glory. It's addictive!
I predict it will send thousands – if not millions – in the direction of the slopes in the coming seasons, if not to emulate what they have seen, but at least to get a taste of it.
Predictably, I've also been addicted to the fashion and the multitudinous cultures and sub-cultures of snowsports. The snowboarding women's hair (always the same with two locks pulled out of the helmet to frame the face), the Big Air men with the bibs over one shoulder and the ice dancer in Oscar de la Renta, this has been very good value on the fashion front.
For anyone looking for stylish, high-performance vintage-inspired skiwear, then My Sunday Ski by British duo Cassie Eason and Ellie Lindsay-Wood could be a good bet. This glamorous collection could almost persuade me to head back to the mountains, but then I remember my dodgy ankle and think otherwise (Lindsey Vonn, I am not).
Apart from the beauty of the collection, this is an interesting story of entrepreneurship in the face of huge challenge, the benefits of building authentic community and an obsession with design and detail. Have a read of our interview with these intrepid founders here.
Lauretta Roberts, Co-founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief.
The Interview: Former Matches CCO Carl Tallents on launching new activewear and athleisure brand, Now You Live
It was fascinating to hear from former Matches CCO Carl Tallents this week regarding launching his own activewear and athleisure brand called Now You Live.
Tallents, who was also formerly Group Head of Luxury Brands at Frasers Group and, prior to that, spent almost five and a half years as Head of Brand at Flannels, decided to take a step back from his hectic life in fashion in 2024 for a reset.
Posting recently on LinkedIn, Tallents said that after 20+ years in fashion, working with some of the world’s biggest brands and all the global travelling that comes with that, he was "exhausted, stressed, and not present enough for the people who mattered most".
He also said that when he looked at the market “nothing resonated” and “everything felt loud, busy and overdesigned.” So, he made the hardest decision of his career and, putting product and purpose first, he set about creating his first own brand. After helping to build up brands for so many other people, he decided it was now his turn.
Targeting the highly competitive and, some might say, oversaturated activewear and athleisure market, is certainly a brave move. But this feels personal and not to do with “commercial gap analysis”. He believes that people are re-evaluating how they live, and he sees “a shift happening towards balance, wellbeing and intentionality”.
With his understanding of brand clarity, retail environments and customer expectations learnt in his previous roles, where he was immersed in global luxury strategy, understanding product, positioning and pace at the highest level, he’s now feeding that into Now You Live.
The discipline, required standards and commercial awareness are second nature to Tallents, so it’s little wonder that he has already secured the likes of Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Selfridges as wholesale partners for the first season – launching with them in the coming weeks. I wish him the best of luck with it, though I somehow doubt he’s now going to get much more rest than he did before! At least it will be his baby though.
Tom Bottomley, Contributing Editor.
