London Fashion Week SS12: Topshop Unique

Who: Topshop Unique

What: Ancient Eygpt, via the street style of the urban Nineties ghetto.

Highlights: Gold everything, from prints to embellishment and leaf-capped hair.

Lowlights: It’s a hard collection to pull off for your average fashion fan.

Overall: Ancient Egypt and the urban Ninties hip hop scene aren’t two historical eras on the timeline we’d expect to come together, but where Topshop Unique is concerned, it’s really best not to have any expectations at all. Actually, you’d be surprised just how well oversized sporty streetwear and abstract hieroglyphic prints work. Jersey cropped joggers and sweaters are exaggerated and relaxed, and as street as we’ve come to expect from Unique, but they’re splashed with brash graffiti-like hieroglyphic prints. The occasional full-skirted dress or flared skirt gave way to a more refined edge, but the underlying street signs didn’t wane as ghetto gold motifs of coiled snakes and scareb beetles reflecting the opulence of Ancient Egypt appeared on everything from slouchy separates to tube dresses and a pretty pink pleated skirt. Gold was the order of the day, it seems, covering everything from foil bustiers to hotpants and models’ hair. Monochrome was also prevalent, particularly effective in an enlarged Elizabeth Taylor Cleopatra print, as were jewel tones in turquoise and watermelon. Glamorous and ghetto-fabulous, Unique’s spring 2012 collection is a contemporary pharoah party, with the likes of Anna Wintour, Naomi Campbell and Olivia Palermo filling the dancefloor.

Watch the video of Topshop Unique’s spring/summer 2012 show below: