TOPSHOP Announces First Student Mural Competition across the Middle East

TOPSHOP, the leading women's fashion brand with over 25 fashion stores in the GCC and Middle East, invites all students to participate in a Mural Competition, “Unleash Your Creativity,” starting today.
The winning mural design will be chosen by the TOPSHOP UK team to be recreated and displayed on the walls of TOPSHOP flagship stores across the Middle East. In addition, the winner will receive a KD 500 voucher as well as the opportunity to fly to selected stores in the region to reproduce his or her design on TOPSHOP store walls.
The competition is open to all young students wishing to free their imaginations. The concept is simple:  be inspired by the TOPSHOP Spring/Summer 2009 collection in stores now and create an original artwork for TOPSHOP stores across the Middle East.
 
Competition Rules:
Submit up to three design entries per participant.
Send entries by e-mail to topshop@alshaya.com.
Deadline for entries is April 31, 2009.
Include clear contact information with your entry.
You must have a valid passport and the ability to travel to all Middle Eastern countries.
 
In May, the winner will be notified by SMS to receive a KD 500 voucher and the opportunity to fly to TOPSHOP flagship stores in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Kuwait, KSA, Bahrain, Lebanon and Jordan to reproduce the winning design on store walls along with their autograph.
 
Design requirements:
•        The design should be scalable to a width of 2m and a height of 3m.
•        The design is to be inspired by the TOPSHOP Spring/Summer 2009 collection, reflecting its colors and themes.
•        Paint, vinyl and fabric may be used; however, design materials must not damage store walls.  
•        Illustrations are welcomed.
“TOPSHOP wants to involve and interact with students to show that we care about exploring your imagination, wherever you are. This is an opportunity to expand your boundaries of creativity and be inspired by TOPSHOP’s latest looks. We want to hear your voice through an important mean of expression called Art,” says Rana Hammoud, TOPSHOP Brand Marketing Manager, Middle East.
 
With this mural competition, TOPSHOP is extending its social involvement program to students across the region. In addition to the competition, TOPSHOP is committed to helping students manage their budgets, aided by a 10% discount on all products upon presentation of a student ID card in any TOPSHOP store.
 
TOPSHOP is one of the UK’s most highly regarded brands on the high street. Synonymous with British fashion, in May, 2008, the brand was awarded “Best High Street Shop” by InStyle Shopping Awards and Time Out Shopping Awards. 
 
Recently TOPSHOP widened its range of products and services to appeal to all budgets and sizes. The store is constantly developing and changing ideas and looks, offering products with the latest fashion shout-out for each and every season.
 
The TOPSHOP Spring/Summer 2009 collection is now available in all TOPSHOP stores. Customers will benefit from a complimentary “Style Advisor” service tailor-made to help them find anything from the perfect pair of jeans to the ultimate capsule wardrobe.
 
TOPSHOP Spring/Summer 2009 Collection
The TOPSHOP Spring/Summer 2009 collection is characterized by floral patterns and vintage looks combined with natural tones and a twist of originality.
 
Hope and Glory:  Inspired by British post-war nostalgia and “English Eccentrics”; a muted, natural palette of tone-on-tone grey-lilacs and peach is interspersed with coral, red and deep-purple. It’s a mix of pretty English rose prints with pale denim, muted gingham, weather-worn Union Jack prints, sun-faded stripes and vintage-esque elements like pintucks and petticoats. 
 
Memphis:  America's Deep South and its many ethnic influences are evoked by   splatter-bleached denim, feather print tunics, slashed tees, Mexican-style embroidered trims, and Rodeo touches such as studded cowboy shirts, leather satchels, and tasselled laces on heels and boots. 
 
Nouveau Sport: A glamorously urban sportswear theme sees overblown shapes paired with graphic, tribal inspired print-bases. A splash of sex appeal emerges with dominant gold accessories and space age looking platforms for a no-fuss, urban finish.
 
Voodoo:  The most extravagant face of this season, “Voodoo” is a melting pot of graphic, kaleidoscopic and Caribbean-inspired prints on laser-cut jersey - knotted, slashed and wrapped to create a body-con silhouette enhanced by digitized safari and Aztec prints.
 
 
About TOPSHOP:
TOPSHOP was established in the UK in 1964, and has become a major style authority and one of fashion's biggest success stories. With over 300 stores in the UK and over a 100 in growing international territories, TOPSHOP’s triumph has been all the more remarkable considering its humble beginnings. Now part of the long-standing retail force Arcadia Group, TOPSHOP began in the basement of a department store in the north of England called Peter Robinson. Less than a decade later, TOPSHOP became a stand-alone retailer. In 1994 the brand took over the entire 90,000-square-foot space, and the iconic TOPSHOP flagship store was born. It is still the world's largest fashion store on the high street, attracting over 200,000 style-savvy shoppers each week. The pioneering of high street/designer partnerships with some of history's most iconic fashion names, including Kate Moss and Celia Birtwell, has further cemented the brand's reputation as fashion leader and trendsetter. TOPSHOP has a wide product range that is divided into a number of different concepts for women from all age categories and teenagers. The company’s clothing collections are created by its own designers, pattern makers and buyers. For further information, please visit www.topshop.com.
 
About M.H. Alshaya:
M.H. Alshaya Co. is one of the leading retail companies operating in the Middle East and is the franchisee for more than 50 international retail brands including TOPSHOP, Starbucks Coffee, Mothercare, Debenhams, Boots, The Body Shop and Foot Locker. Based in Kuwait, Alshaya operates more than 1,700 internationally- branded stores across 16 countries: KSA, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Lebanon, Jordan, Cyprus, Turkey, Russia, Egypt, Poland and most recently in Slovakia, Czech Republic and Hungary.
This network of stores is supported by an integrated pan-regional infrastructure, incorporating best practice activities in retail operations, merchandising, marketing, IT, logistics, real estate, human resources and financial control. Alshaya Retail employs more than 15,000 employees from over 37 different nationalities.
Access more information by visiting www.alshaya.com.