In The Style 'saved' by sale despite downturn in demand for fast-fashion

Fast fashion e-tailer In The Style has been sold after collapsing into administration on 10 March, saving hundreds of jobs.

Its collapse into administration earlier this month left questions hanging over the future of its remaining workforce, its brand and other assets.

However, Marco Piacquadio, Owner, Director and Head of Recovery at FTS Recovery, took to LinkedIn today writing: "Pleased to have saved over three hundred jobs last week completing sales out of Administration on both In The Style Fashion Limited and Rectella Limited T/a Julian Charles.

"Continuity was achieved for employees, respective brands, supply chain, customers and over 70 sites and concessions rescued across the two transactions."

In The Style, the fast-fashion e-tailer founded by Adam Frisby in 2013, has seen its financial performance deteriorate in recent years. Once valued at more than £100 million, the business was sold to Baaj Capital for just over £1 million in 2023. Just two years later, the fast fashion brand was forced to appoint administrators.

The retailer revealed a pre-tax loss of £2.6 million for the year to 31 March 2024, down from the £7.7 million loss it reported the year prior.

Last month, EastEnders actress Jacqueline Jossa, who worked in partnership with In The Style, claimed she had not been paid in months. Jossa signed a £1 million deal with the retailer in 2020 but called in lawyers over an unpaid ‘five-figure sum’.

Jossa told her 4 million Instagram, "I see them signing up new faces and continuing to launch new collections and I feel it’s my responsibility to let the new girls know that their contract is unlikely to be honoured and they are unlikely to be paid."

Adam Frisby

Adam Frisby, who stepped away from In The Style in September 2024, came to Jossa's defence.

Frisby previously handed over the Chief Executive role to Sam Perkin in January of 2022 but later reclaimed the role in December 2022 to re-engineer In the Style's economic model.

In a world where sustainability is no longer a trend but a necessity, fast-fashion brands are facing a downturn in demand.

Consumer demand is increasingly leaning toward slower fashion as shoppers begin to rethink the environmental impact of their purchases. Plus, it's become almost impossible for British fast fashion retailers to compete with the likes of Shein and Temu. In light of this, earlier this month, both PrettyLittleThing and Bohoo announced rebrands, but are these rebrands a genuine shift or just a clever marketing move?

Read more here: 'What PrettyLittleThing and Boohoo's rebrands say about fast fashion'.