A POPULAR 90s fashion brand will make a return to the high street for the first time in over a decade.
Kookai, the Aussie fashion brand, is plotting a comeback after last exiting the UK back in 2013.
That’s according to a report in Retail Week, which said the brand is in talks with property agents Forty Group to advise on a site in London.
The brand, which has been previously sported by Paula Yates, hopes to be open and trading come spring next year.
Sources close to the outlet also said it was planning a “careful” rollout, with a few stores in selective areas.
Kookai first launched in France in 1983, but is currently owned by Australian brand Magi, which bought the brand in 2017.
It opened two stores in London over the 1990s, and continued to expand during the 2000s.
However, it crashed into administration in 2006 and had to wind down its UK business as part of a restructuring in 2013.
The Sun has approached Forty Group and Kookai for comment.
It will be the first time in over a decade that fans of the brand can shop its chic garments in person.
But the brand has an online store which ships to the UK.
Kookai joins a host of other big-name brands from the 90s plotting a comeback on British high streets.
Laura Ashley has opened a brand new store in Lakeside shopping centre in Essex.
The fashion brand, which counted the late Princess Diana as a fan, was founded in 1953 and its trends became a favourite in the ’70s, with homewares following in the ’80s.
But it became one of many retail casualties of the pandemic, with the brand crashing into administration in 2020.
Ted Baker is also plotting a return in early 2026,
It is understood the brand is planning to return to London, with more details to be confirmed closer to the time.
It’s not clear yet how many shops there will be or whether there will be any outside the capital.
The news comes more than a year after the much-loved brand dramatically collapsed and shuttered all its stores in August 2024.
Elsewhere, Topshop has been ramping up its presence in stores after Asos sold a 75% stake to the brand to Bestseller.
The iconic British brand has opened a concession in Liberty London and will open in 32 John Lewis stores come next year.
And last year, fashion and homeware chain Cath Kidston made a surprise return by opening a store in Westfield White City, London.
The retailer had crashed into administration and shut all of its stores in 2023.
What does going into administration mean?
WHEN a company enters into administration, all control is passed to an appointed administrator.
The administrator has to leverage the company’s assets and business to repay creditors any outstanding debts.
Once a company enters administration, a “moratorium” is put in place which means no legal action can be taken against it.
Administrators write to your creditors and Companies House to say they’ve been appointed.
They try to stop the company from being liquidated (closing down), and if it can’t it pays as much of a company’s debts from its remaining assets.
The administrator has eight weeks to write a statement explaining what they plan to do to move the business forward.
This must be sent to creditors, employees and Companies House and invite them to approve or amend the plans at a meeting.
A Notice of Intention is used to inform concerning parties that a company intends to enter administration.
It is a physical document which is submitted to court, usually by directors aiming to prevent a company from being liquidated.
Like with a standard administration process, a Notice of Intention stops creditors from taking out any legal action over a company while they try and rectify the business.
