High Street or High End? - ASOS is proving itself to be more than just another purveyor of fast fashion.

Images via Fashion GPS Radar

When it comes to online fashion retail, ASOS undoubtedly takes the cake — hell, they’d take the entire patisserie – as one of the pioneers of online shopping. Yet unlike its two biggest competitors, Topman and Topshop, ASOS has yet to establish its own high-end, in-house brand in the style of Arcadia Group’s Topman Design or Topshop Unique (both of which show at London Collections: Men and London Fashion Week respectively) or H&M’s high-end brand COS (which just began shipping to the States).

The latest collection from ASOS is another small step towards establishing itself not only as a purveyor of fast fashion, but of considered, curated collections that could indeed fit into a high end wardrobe.

For the A/W 2014 season, ASOS have remained consistent with their distinct aesthetic — I’m dubbing it ‘haute chav’ — whilst incorporating seasonal shapes and trends. The styling sums it up perfectly; who else than a chav would wear a colour-blocked sweater à la Kris Van Assche with ankle-grazing sweatpants and sneakers?

For the most part, the collection could hardly be considered high end, and is unabashedly so (the high street ethos of affordability at the expense of textile quality and longevity looks to blame here). That said, I can say from experience that some ASOS clothing, suiting in particular, is of an incredible standard given the price range and polyester content of their textiles. Yet even so, the ASOS customer doesn’t appear too concerned about just how flammable their quilted bomber jacket is.

When I called this collection a small step towards establishing a brand to rival Topman Design, I really was emphasising that this is a small step. At any rate, it’ll be years before ASOS shifts its direction towards a higher end line.

Until then, there’s always the odd impulse sale purchase… or six. Oops.