CHERYL Cole is the girl with the fashion X-Factor at the moment. Everyone wants to dress like her and, boy, do they.
You only have to glance around your club or office to see a row of clones. Same tops, same trousers, same shoes, same bags- all from a high street store near you.
The impact of the high street on UK fashion has grown, with consumers demanding top quality styles at affordable prices.
With fashion being more disposable than ever and a weekly spend on the UK high street of £5m last september, clothes are definitely at the top of the list.
But is all this money being spent on the high street destroying individuality and killing off the haute couture designer?
Not if they can help it. Following the old adage if you can’t beat 'em join 'em, the designers have entered the high street market by collaborating with the giants.
They have stitched in their names allowing us to access high quality designs at affordable prices, while maintaining their profile.
One successful collaboration is between Marks and Spencer and Patricia Field, the designer and stylist for Sex And The City.
“The Patricia Field range has been incredibly successful, it more than doubled our sales expectations in the first week and just flew out of the door,” says Lindsey Fox, a spokeswoman for Marks and Spencer’s ladies fashion.
“It is important for designers’ names to be linked with fashion ranges because it brings a new point of difference to the store and for our customers.”
And it is not just Marks and Spencer who are opening up the designer market to the high street, Topshop have also had great success. In the first week of trading, Topshop’s relationship with super model Kate Moss netted the high street store £3.5m.
Lindsey Fox claims that having designers working closely with M&S is a positive thing.
“Patricia Field definitely attracted more of the younger customers,” she says.
As Cara Bray, 20, a stylish third year architecture student, points out: “It’s nice to be included in all types of fashion, including the designer ranges.”
So who is next to join the list? Topshop seem to be staying ahead of the game, with a new winter line from the Finnish designer Ivana helsinki.
With a navy blue party bow dress at only £50 or a strap dress for £60 now we can all afford to get a little bit of Cheryl Cole’s chic.
