Topshop x Ashish’s Night at the Paradise Hotel
As a diehard proponent of sequins, neon lights, flourescents, and “more sequins,” designer Ashish Gupta has never been one for understatement. So of course his latest collaboration with Topshop, inspired by exotic vacations, is not your typical long walk on the beach.
“I came up with this idea of a fantasy called ‘Paradise Hotel’,” describes Gupta. “We had the idea of this girl on holiday hiding out from the paparazzi.” In her room, she wears a mix of bathrobes, eye masks or towel dresses. Outside she’s a little more mischievous: one oversize tee reads “Hi my name is _ / My Room Number Is _”. Clear backpacks are the go-to carryalls, and a black mesh dress with two X-shaped pasties leaves even less to the imagination. But Gupta knows the fun thing about vacationing is a chance for anonymity. “What happens at Paradise Hotel stays at Paradise Hotel…”
This is the Indian-born, London-based designer’s tenth collaboration with Topshop; past themes include fast-food (think ice-cream sundae motifs), sports (“I <3 Sports”) and skiing (“Chalet come with you”).
A highlight of this capsule collection–literally–are a pair of three-inch platform sneakers with flashing LED lights built in. “Lily Allen wore a pair an instagrammed a picture of herself with them in bed,” says Gupta. Though Allen wasn’t the only star who took notice–and it’s not clear who saw the light first. “At the moment it is Lily Allen versus Kate Perry versus Lady Gaga.” Wherever Paradise Hotel is–or maybe it’s just a state of mind?–it seems like the place to be seen.
THE TOPSHOP X ASHISH COLLECTION WILL LAUNCH TOMORROW, MAY 29, AT TOPSHOP AND NORDSTROM.
