Jigsaw-Roksanda is a meeting of minds that is bringing joy, colour and life to our dreary high streets

GIVEN the faltering state of the high street, it’s always a relief to hear some positive news.

- Victoria Moss

Jigsaw is a case in point. From flounder and drear irrelevance, it’s been steered back to life by Jo Sykes, creative director since 2019. Sykes has great design pedigree. Part of the Noughties London Fashion Week generation, she funnelled her post-Central Saint Martins energy into an eponymous label which insiders (myself included) loved. She helmed Aquascutum and Nicole Farhi before arriving at Jigsaw just before the pandemic. Since then, she’s overseen a fullscale overhaul of the brand, closed 30 shops and stripped it back to its womenswear traditions, ditching menswear and kids’ collections.

Critically, she’s been turning out wellmade, well-priced clothes with just enough design flair that women want to wear — which given the rails of dross elsewhere isn’t as easy as it might seem. It’s worked: sales rose 19 per cent to £56.8 million in the 2022-23 results.