How retailer ASOS bucks all trends

It's hard to believe that Michelle Obama, Rihanna and Rita Ora share similar tastes in fashion, but all three women have been photographed wearing ASOS clothes.

They’re not the only ones, with some of the most chic women in the world clamouring to be on the cover of the ASOS magazine, and Vogue magazine calling it ‘couture on the high street’. This recent trend of celebrity endorsement is particularly ironic considering the brand’s origins. The brainchild of Nick Robertson, the website was created after a colleague told Robertson that when the TV show Friends first aired, thousands of viewers rang the production company, asking where they could buy the photo frame that hung on the back of Monica and Rachel’s door. Seeing a gap in the market, Robertson launched ‘As Seen on Screen’ in 2000, selling near perfect copies of outfits worn by celebrities on TV shows and movies.

Although the early years were somewhat difficult, Robertson, now the CEO of the company, believes the timing was perfect, saying that “Maybe we started a little early but by the time broadband took off in 2005/2006, we were up and running already.” With the help of its 40 employees, ASOS was attempting to re-brand, positioning itself as a sort of online fashion editor, choosing the best items from other retailers and grouping them, along with its own brand items, into categories according to the latest trends.