If anyone ever doubted that a high street 'pulse' brand could herald the coolest cats out of all of the catwalk shows combined, Topshop Unique officially opened a can of whoop-ass on that presumption. Kate Moss and her newbie model little sister, Lottie, jostled with Philip Green, whilst Kendall Jenner (who is allegedly in town to throw Harry Styles a birthday party at The Box and made the paps so overexcited with her presence we thought they might actually crap themselves or squash her) was nestled next to Anna Wintour, immediately exacerbating those rumours that she's soon to feature in US Vogue, with a certain sister.
Meanwhile It girls Harley Viera-Newton, Tallulah Harlech, Chelsea Leyland, Ashley Madekwe, Mary Charteris (with the coolest pink diamante eyebrows, we might add), Atlanta de Cadenet and Gemma Chan made up part of the star-studded FROW, with Alexa and Pixie notably absent. We also met superstar Brit model Hollie-May Saker's super-cute boyfriend, who offered us a piece of fruit... which we declined, opting isntead for a piece of cake. Which is possibly why his girlfriend is the model and we are not.
Incidentally, Unique's AW14 was an absolute blinder (and we're not just saying that cos they plied us with champagne) and we'd go as far to say their best yet. Think rebellious schoolgirl chic (smudged eyeliner, petulant stomp, nose rings) modelled by a rafter of homegrown talent including Sam Rollinson, Malaika Firth, Hollie-May, Eliza Cummings and the mega Jourdan Dunn. And what's even better? A lot of it you can buy right now. We've applied our nous (it's not easy on a Monday) and come up with a virtual shopping list for you.
The OTK boots
Ermaghad, we've never seen thigh boots look so cool for school. That said, there's tons of good thigh boots on the market (although you may have to wait for those insanely tasty burgundy ones). Don't fret that you'll look like a bad version of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman (less sexy lady, more, er, bonafide prozzy) with these John Over The Knee Boots, £135 from KMB at Zalando, if you just keep the rest of the look resolutely _un_sexy (think big knit and plain mini, like Unique showed) and you'll be fine.
The cable knit poloneck
Blue is the collegiate colour, which made it a suitable palette for Unique to riff on for their homage to debauched academia. Fashion dictates (and we agree) that a cable knit poloneck is your trustiest piece of knitwear. Cropped polonecks are even better, allowing for the tails of your mannish shirt to poke out. This Waverley Cable Knit Sweater, £300 by Altuzarra at Matches Fashion s perfect to make androgynous outfits look a little bit cute/femme.
The off-the-shoulder pinafore
This is not just any pinafore. This is an* insouciant* pinafore – worn with a sensible white shirt underneath, sure, but then shoved off the shoulders for mega-maths cool points. We'd recommend this Denim Pinny Dress, £30 by Monki at ASOS, which you could wear with a tee or man's dress shirt with one strap undone to look… well, undone.
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The multi-coloured faux fur
Could bright faux be having any more of a moment? Non! Non. We also spotted it at Paul Smith and Shrimps. This Faux Fur Altea Coat, £475 by Ainea Avenue 32, has long been on our wishlist.
Supersize puffa jackets
Mammoth coats of all varieties are still going strong, and the quilted puffa jackets at Unique – both short and long and in metallic silver and black – were a nice urban sidenote to the preppier pieces. For a bit of pizazz, we like this metallic burgundy Puffa Jacket, £40 in the sale at ASOS. Size up to feel dinky.
The flippy leather mini skirt
We've been wearing a lot of straight leather minis for the last few seasons (#shitfashiongirlssay); so it's nice to see the flippy skater coming back. A little bit of fit and flare never harmed a gal's hips now, did it! We're pretty sure this faux leather New Earth Skirt in Black, £58.56 from Finders Keepers at Revolve, fits the bill.
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Pictures: Getty
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.