As the John Lewis Christmas advert drops, Topshop opens in its department store at Victoria Gate in Leeds
Nostalgia reigns this Christmas at John Lewis, as the eagerly-anticipated Christmas advert, called Where Love Lives, drops – and Topshop makes a return to Leeds city centre in the retail giant’s department store at Victoria Gate shopping centre, just in time for festive partywear shopping.
The John Lewis Topshop pop-ups opened on Monday - earlier than their planned launch in February next year - in response to demand from fans, says John Lewis.
The in-store shops will offer womenswear shoppers old and new an early look at Topshop’s new iteration before the full launch in 32 John Lewis stores in February 2026.
Topshop is now centre stage on the first floor womenswear section of John Lewis Leeds, as well as at the London Oxford Street, Bristol, and Liverpool stores. Each pop-up has around 30 fashion-forward pieces, changing weekly, including statement outerwear, iconic denim, cult knits and must-have partywear.
Nostalgia is big at John Lewis this festive season, as the new 1990s dance-inspired Christmas advert demonstrates.
Although seen as a London-centric brand, Topshop was founded in 1964 in Sheffield, aimed at teens and young women. The first standalone store opened 10 years later, and Topman was established in 1978. The Oxford Circus store opened in 1994 and Topshop became a must-visit fashion destination for a generation of young women, synonymous with British energy, culture and design, setting trends and bringing catwalk looks on a budget to all.
A cornerstone of Topshop’s heritage was its collaborations, working musicians, designers, illustrators, writers and photographers. There were sellout fashion collabs with designers including JW Anderson and Christopher Kane, and with Kate Moss in 2007.
At its height, Topshop had 300 stores in the UK and 11 in the US.
It was bought by Asos in 2021 when its parent company, Philip Green’s Arcadia, went into administration. But its flagship store at Oxford Circus in central London closed later that year.
Online retailer Asos relaunched Topshop’s website in August and opened an outlet in the London department store Liberty.
To celebrate its John Lewis exclusive store residency, there are giveaways planned throughout the six-week takeover.
The move is sure to delight fans who have been missing the chain store, which was seen as a trend-setter rather than a follower.
Michelle Wilson, managing director of Topshop, said: “We’ve seen an incredible response to Topshop’s return, and we know our customers are excited to shop the brand in person again. By taking our Winter and Party collections beyond London, the Topshop pop-ups bring our signature energy and style to locations across the UK, just in time for the festive season.”
Rachel Morgans, director of Fashion at John Lewis, said, "John Lewis is the home of Christmas, which is when our customers are looking for those key seasonal must-haves. We've been listening to how excited they are for Topshop's return, so as their sole nationwide partner, this felt like the perfect moment for a 'teaser' pop-up. We're bringing a curated edit of statement winter and partywear to our stores in London's Oxford Street, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, and on our app. It's an exciting glimpse of what's to come next year."
The initiative comes ahead of the full-scale launch of Topshop in 32 John Lewis stores, with Topman in six of the stores, which is scheduled for February 2026.