THEY were once looked down upon as the tawdry poor relations of the fashion industry. Now, Britain’s high-street chains have finally breached the world of haute couture.

The supermodel Erin Wasson, the Texan face of Maybelline cosmetics, is to be transformed into the torso of Topshop when she sashays down the catwalk at London Fashion Week next month. The event will be the first held by a mass-market clothing chain in one of the world’s fashion capitals.

Previously, chain stores have been accused of copying catwalk fashions and rushing them into their stores at cut prices. Tesco has even used the supermodel Naomi Campbell in television advertising.

The move by Topshop is the first time a high-street retailer has come at fashion from the opposite direction to compete with the likes of Julien Macdonald, Paul Smith and John Rocha.

Claudia Croft, fashion editor of The Sunday Times, said: “A lot of people think the high street is just about ripping off designers, but Topshop does have a good design team and generates its own trends.

“The crocheted shrugs we have seen people wearing over the summer didn’t come from the catwalk or from being worn by Kate Moss. It was a trend generated by the high street.”

Topshop’s entry into the designer elite, which has appalled some fashion purists, comes courtesy of its Unique brand, which is considered cutting edge enough to be sold in New York boutiques. It sells at the more expensive British branches of Topshop for £50-£200.

Topshop has paid a far heftier price to gain a foothold on the catwalk. Over the past eight years, it has ploughed at least £500,000 into sponsorship of a new generation of designers who are showing at London Fashion Week, which has acted as a springboard for designers such as Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen.

Next month’s stroll by Wasson wearing a leaf-print dress will also mark a growing rapprochement between two of Britain’s shopping tycoons.

Stuart Rose, chief executive of Marks & Spencer, is chairman of the British Fashion Council, which runs London Fashion Week and vets those allowed to take part.

He and Philip Green, the owner of BHS and Arcadia group, which includes Topshop, fell out last year over the latter’s second abortive bid to buy M&S. Rose moved there from his job as chief executive of Arcadia after Green snapped it up three years ago.

The row degenerated into an alleged street scuffle between the two, in which Green is reported to have grabbed Rose by the lapels.

Next month, however, it will be the quality of Topshop’s clothes rather than the rivalry between Green and Rose that will take centre stage in a show that is expected to cost at least £50,000 to stage.

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