Ex-Topshop boss resurfaces at Whistles

Expect a war on the high street as the cool young designers who have helped make Topshop a fashion leader in recent years are wooed by the high street chain Whistles. A group of senior staff who, one after the other, have deserted Sir Philip Green's Topshop over the past year, have come together in a formidable team to run Whistles. They are led by fashion guru Jane Shepherdson, the former brand director of Topshop, who walked out at the end of 2006 after Green made his autonomous decision to give Kate Moss a huge design contract.

Shepherdson, 45, is often described as the most influential woman in fashion. Rag trade insiders have always credited her, not the store's bullish proprietor, with the establishment of the Topshop brand.

Green is already rattled. Reacting to the news yesterday, Green sniped: "If you've had the best job in fashion and end up there [ie Whistles], then what does that tell you?"

What it tells Green, even if he won't admit it publicly, is that Topshop is likely to face imposing competition. "Whistles is a great brand," said Shepherdson. "I also happen to think there's a real gap in the market between the very cheap and the increasingly expensive."

Publicly, Shepherdson has been working in an advisory capacity with Oxfam and People Tree since she left Green's employment. Privately, she has been quietly negotiating the Whistles move with Baugur, the Icelandic investment house which runs the chain of 40 stores and another 40 concessions in department stores. Baugur has agreed to demerge Whistles from its Mosaic empire, allowing Shepherdson's team to buy one-fifth of the company, which is valued at £20m.

Shepherdson is the managing director, and two other Topshop veterans, Keith Wilks and Jo Farrelly become finance and marketing directors. And that may not be the end of it. Shepherdson said yesterday: "There will be a couple more people joining me, but not for a month or so." These could include Karyn Fenn, who briefly took over from Shepherdson as brand director at Topshop but then left in August, and even Caren Downie, buying director at Topshop.