At Topman, Catnip for Gen-Z

LONDON, United Kingdom — Topman Design took guests through a maze of installations in east London's Truman Brewery before actually seeing the clothes. Why? Because just as Burberry's Makers House offered an experiential experience that translated the brand to a public audience (they're all the rage among Generation Snapchat), Topman too is making its premium line more accessible to a content-driven customer by opening up to the hoi polloi this weekend.

That said, the films and installations by photographer Nick Offord, poet Max Wallis, artist collective The Rhythm Method, filmmaker Ben Cullen Williams and photographer Campbell Addy were a treat. But back to the clothes: in a final room, the top male models du jour were assembled in an array of '80s-inspired Blitz-y get ups. Slouchy silk pinstripes, perpendicular shoulders, strict Victorian tailoring over waist-cinching pleated harem trousers were emblematic of stylist Luke Day's Midas touch. Ditto the red socks, brogued shoes and rave-era graphics.

The main event, however, was the gift shop at the end of the mini-museum. It was selling catchy ironic slogan baseball caps and fluoro T-shirts, and it's those pieces that will really be the catnip for the young visitors this weekend.