All recent evidence points to this: Guns N’ Roses t-shirts are no more. TV t-shirts are the new band t-shirts, and Netflix series Stranger Things has taken the stage. After its incredibly successful debut season last year, it has become pop culture’s new cult TV show. And the ultimate proof of its crazy popularity? Topshop has just released an exclusive Stranger Things collection.
This is, of course, not completely out of nowhere. This Paris Fashion Week, we saw Nicolas Ghesquière include in his Louis Vuitton collection a Stranger Things t-shirt not dissimilar to those now found in Topshop. With a small metal chain sewn on its collar, and a typical 80’s style poster featuring the show’s main characters printed in the middle, it was a genius addition to the whole collection. The Stranger Things look was another play on time, adding to the whole show’s idea of warping through centuries, Ghesquière’s models almost becoming time lords, with their 17th century tailcoats styled with contemporary exercise gear. Stranger Things is a modern day production, it follows a contemporary story line and deals with contemporary issues. But it’s so nostalgically and fantastically set in the 80s. It just fit right in.
Topshop’s Stranger Things collection, then, is a smart move. It’s no coincidence that its editorial photos are styled very similarly to that Louis Vuitton look: layered over floral bohemian shirts, alluding to that moving between times, between styles, between trends. As always, High Street imitates Designer where it can – it’s a guaranteed sell. But there’s something else about these t-shirts. Stranger Things has so flawlessly fit into the fashion world. Its 80s aesthetic is conveniently relevant to today’s style and trends. It sparks nostalgia within us. It’s for everybody, and yet it still feels ‘cool’ and out of the mainstream. This collaboration between Topshop and the Netflix show, then, is a match made in heaven. Basically, it comes down to this: anyone who is anyone shops at Topshop, or watches Stranger Things. And if you only did one of the two before, this collection will make sure that changes.
Bea Warleta
Image: Getty