Beyonce has partnered with Topshop on a new retail venture. The singer has formed a new 50-50 joint company with the London-based retailer, Parkwood Topshop Athletic Ltd, which will produce a line of sports leisure apparel and streetwear.
“This is not a collaboration. This is about building a brand and building a business—a separate, proper business, with separate overhead and a separate office,” Topshop owner Sir Philip Green told WWD. “Basically, when she was in London in February we arranged to get together. We started talking generally, about doing something together. We’ve been looking at that [athletic] sector for a while. It’s something we need to be in. Based on what she does, how she works out, the conversation got into that category. We started getting into proper conversation in May or June, as to how it would work. It took six or eight weeks to put a deal together. On Friday, Beyoncé came to our office for the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle.”
It’s believed that the first offering will be released for fall 15 and that Knowles will be very hands on in the design and production process. The singer has been pictured wearing Topshop pieces on many occasions and is known for her love of the brand. “I have always loved Topshop for their fashion credentials and forward thinking,” she says.
Green plans to hire a creative director to oversee the project, two designers—one with a fashion background, the other with technical sportswear expertise—as well as a new, entirely separate design team to be based in New York. A name for the fashion line has yet to be decided on (“We’ve been brainstorming about the name—we haven’t got there yet,” explained Green.)
According to WWD, the range will feature clothing, footwear and accessories across dance, fitness and sports categories and will be stocked in all Topshop’s major outlets.
Source: http://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/news/beyonce-topshop-athletic-line
