Here are some of this week’s news and features highlights handpicked by TheIndustry.fashion team.
In The Style’s Adam Frisby and influencer Perrie Sian launch new inclusive fashion brand
Adam Frisby and Perrie Sian are back – but this time, they’re entering a new chapter with Reasn, a fashion label built for the Instagram era. After more than a year of preparation, the duo are launching a collection that merges Frisby’s e-commerce know-how with Sian’s creator-led influence, offering everything from tracksuits to cosy sweaters in a full-size range.
For Frisby, this is a comeback after leaving In The Style in 2024, the business he built from a £1,000 redundancy payout into one of the UK’s biggest online fast fashion players. Reasn marks the next stage of his entrepreneurial journey, this time with a sharper focus on community, engagement and accessibility. Sian, with her 2.1 million Instagram followers, brings the kind of relatable high street expertise that makes scrolling through a feed feel like a masterclass in wearable style.
There are very few influencers I follow on TikTok, but Perrie Sian has earned her keep on my feed. Her effortlessly candid high street hauls always leave me asking two questions: where does she keep all of these items, and where can I get them? She has primed her audience for Reasn since the get-go.
The debut collection drops on 5 October, but the build-up is already electric. From her previous collaborations with In The Style, including 24 sell-out collections, Sian knows how to generate buzz that converts, while Frisby ensures the infrastructure to support it. With early sign-ups in the hundreds of thousands already and hints of future activations, Reasn is positioning itself as a new force in women’s fashion.
Chloé Burney, Senior News & Features Writer.
The Interview: high street high flyer Barbara Horspool on setting up her own brand Mamu
Barbara Horspool will be a familiar name to high street followers, having applied her vast creative talent and experience to brands such as New Look, Jigsaw and The White Company. This week she unveiled her own brand Mamu, which brings a dash of glamour and luxury to downtime.
This is a very considered collection of leisure and sleepwear and its launch seems perfectly time as we head into autumn and Christmas and thoughts of cocooning at home start to creep in.
Apart from the lovely product (and it is lovely), what I am really enjoying about this story is seeing another high street high flyer take the plunge and set up their own label. A number of women (and it is mostly women) have done it and this has resulted in some fantastic new brands in our market, such as Albaray, Florere and NRBY to name a few.
Barbara will be talking about her journey at our Retail Reset Summit on 22 October. Do go and secure a ticket if you haven’t already (click here). We have some other great speakers from the likes of John Lewis, ASOS, DREST, END. and more… We’re hoping to inspire more bravery and entrepreneurialism in our market, so we can all enjoy a more prosperous future.
Lauretta Roberts, Co-founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief.
Mayor hails trial banning traffic from Oxford Street ‘the day the fight back began’
Major of London Sadiq Khan really is hellbent on making a large stretch of Oxford Street traffic-free. He hailed last Sunday’s one-day trial as “the day the fight back began to rescue the street”, pronouncing it as “a glimpse to what the future could be like” with increased footfall.
I’d say footfall on Oxford Street is usually pretty good as it is, even in its largely shoddy state. Surely doing what he and Westminster Council can to stop decent retailers leaving Oxford Street, attracting better ones and getting rid of the tat would be more rewarding for everyone concerned?
Crime rates in London have rocketed during his tenure as Mayor, and you barely see any coppers on the beat anymore (aside from stopping off for a KFC or similar). Knife crime in particular is rife. Does he really think that pedestrianising Oxford Street will help to cut crime? It’s more likely to get much worse.
Crimes, especially mobile phone thefts, are often carried out by hooded and masked-up gangs on souped up electric bikes and scooters (that often go faster than cars stuck crawling in 20mph zones), will they also be banned from Oxford Street?
Tim Lord, Chair of the Soho Society’s executive committee, pointed out earlier this year that what they do know from experience is that Old Compton Street was pedestrianised in 2000 and “nine months after they did it, they had to dig it all up because of the crime increase that happened on Old Compton Street,” he said.
Addressing the current level of crime in the local area more generally, he added: “There are 40,000 reported crimes a year in the West End ward. 2,000 robberies, 2,000 violent assaults and 500 sexual assaults.
“The West End ward has something like 75% of all the public realm crime in Westminster, so there are really serious crime problems – and I think the visitors are beginning to notice it.”
Add to the big issue of increased crime, pedestrianising Oxford Street will push cars onto neighbouring streets and will create a worse traffic problem than already exists, not to mention being a nightmare for local residents. Good luck to anyone who lives in the heart of it all.
Tom Bottomley, Contributing Editor.
LFW SS26: Ashish – a dance party of colour, joy and unstoppable movement
After witnessing the sheer extravagance that unfolded at 180 The Strand yesterday, it was clear Ashish’s SS26 London Fashion Week show deserved a moment all to itself.
More dance party than traditional runway, the show was an explosion of colour, joy, and movement that completely redefined the catwalk experience. It all began with the first model – or rather, dancer – floating down the runway in a hot pink, chiffon dress, moving with such playful freedom I assumed it was a special opening act. But no – this was the show’s rhythm from start to finish.
Each model followed suit, twirling and grooving their way around the square catwalk before taking their place in the centre, where they remained, gradually forming a growing sea of glitter, sequins, and euphoria. Read our show report here. Plus, catch up on our other London Fashion Week highlights below.
Sophie Smith, News Editor & Senior Writer.