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Manchester

First look at Topshop in Manchester as beloved brand returns to British high streets

The Joni jeans are SO back

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 17th February 2026

Topshop is officially back on British high streets, and if you’re old enough to remember the struggle of contorting yourself into a pair of Joni jeans, you’re going to want to pay attention to this news…

The iconic fashion giant shut its stores back in 2021, leaving a huge hole in shopping centres across the nation.

But now Topshop and Topman are back in stores, with 32 new Topshop retail spaces and seven new Topman locations launching today.

Mancs will now be able to shop cult denim, statement jackets, and trend-driven wardrobe staples (just like the golden days of Topshop) at the Trafford Centre.

It’s all thanks to a new nationwide partnership with John Lewis, which will see a curated edit of around 130 styles available in-store across womenswear, menswear and footwear.

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In store, that includes a full range of jeans (including those beloved Joni and Jamie jeans, plus more modern barrel-leg styles), graphic tees, knitwear, bomber jackets, and dresses.

There are Topshop retail spaces inside John Lewis at both the Trafford Centre and in Cheadle, but our closest Topman will be across in Leeds.

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John Lewis has also become the exclusive UK physical retailer for Topshop footwear for SS26.

Inside Topshop at the Trafford Centre in Manchester
Inside Topshop at the Trafford Centre in Manchester
The iconic Joni and Jamie jeans are back
The iconic Joni and Jamie jeans are back

Michelle Wilson, managing director of Topshop, said: “Today is about making it easier for customers to access the Topshop and Topman pieces they love.

“From our cult denim to new‐season footwear, you can see it, feel it and take it home the same day. Partnering with John Lewis brings Topshop back to high streets across the UK with the level of service our customers expect.”

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Peter Ruis, managing director of John Lewis, added: “Topshop and Topman are brands with enormous cultural relevance, and their return to physical retail is something our customers are genuinely excited about.

“This partnership reflects our focus on bringing iconic names, strong style
and compelling experiences into our stores.”

All the new Topshop John Lewis locations

  • Glasgow
  • Edinburgh
  • Newcastle
  • Leeds
  • Liverpool
  • Trafford (Manchester)
  • Cheadle (Manchester)
  • Cardiff
  • Nottingham
  • Leicester
  • Solihull
  • Cheltenham
  • Norwich
  • Cambridge
  • Welwyn
  • Milton Keynes
  • Chelmsford
  • Cribbs Causeway (Bristol)
  • Exeter
  • Oxford
  • High Wycombe
  • Reading
  • Bluewater (Kent)
  • Horsham
  • Southampton
  • Brent Cross
  • Stratford
  • Canary Wharf
  • Oxford Street
  • Peter Jones
  • White City
  • Kingston

All the new Topman locations

  • Oxford Street
  • Bluewater
  • Cambridge
  • Cardiff
  • Leeds
  • Reading
  • Newcastle

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Manchester

The best cheese tasting party in the North is BACK at a new Manchester venue

Danny Jones Danny Jones Cheese nights in Manchester city centre

That’s right, one of the biggest and best cheese tasting nights in the entire land is returning to Greater Manchester at a brand new city centre venue.

Not to be over-the-top, but this isn’t just another experience sampling possibly the greatest foodstuff on Earth, it’s a fully-fledged cheese-lovers’ party.

Some of you may have come across Homage2Fromage before, but for anyone unaware of the Yorkshire-born event, it started out as a monthly cheese tasting club and went on to expand across the dairy-adoring North at large.

Relaunching here in Manchester for 2026, all you lactose-intolerant people better watch, because Home2Fromage is coming back with a vengeance and heading to the Northern Quarter. Here’s how it went down the last time we visited one in Leeds:

Leeds, Sheffield, Harrogate, Manchester and who knows where else next.

Posting up in a relatively recent addition to NQ‘s bar and restaurant scene, The Faraday – a pub on Lever St that replaces the old Seven Sins back in October – it looks set to be an ideal venue for the regular evening series.

Homage2Fromage will be making its Manc return this month, and better still, they’re holding a cheeky little giveaway to sweeten the pot.

As in the deal, we mean – not the inevitable bowls full of olives, chutney, oil and various other dips…

To welcome this celebration of all things cheese coming back to Manchester city centre, they’re giving away a bunch of free tickets: 20 pairs in total.

Worth over £50 a piece for each twin set of tickets, you’d be a fool not to at least throw your hat in the ring for this one.

As you can see, the competition closes this Thursday, 19 February, ahead of the full relaunch party next week (Wed, 25 Feb), and all you have to do to enter is fill out this super quick survey.

It really is as simple as that; a few quick words are all that stand between you and a potential mountain of cheese and more.

You can find all you need to know about the event right HERE, and in case you haven’t popped into The Faraday just yet, see more down below.

It’s still somewhat early days, but we can see ourselves spending a fair bit of time in this up-and-coming Manchester watering hole, especially when there’s cheese nights involved.

Inside The Faraday Pub, the Northern Quarter’s newest boozer

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — The Manc Group/Publicity pictures (supplied)

Manchester

Mancs start crowdfunder for Mani mural in honour of late, great, local music legend

Danny Jones Danny Jones Mani mural fundraiser Failsworth Manchester

A group of Manchester artists, audiophiles and residents have started a fundraiser to create a new mural in memory of the late, great local music legend, Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield.

Following The Stone Roses and Primal Scream bass player’s passing last year, the city and Greater Manchester as a whole have been finding ways to honour the Manc musician ever since.

Be it lining his funeral cortege from his home in Heaton Moor, Stockport, or peers like The Charlatans’ Tim Burgess penning heartfelt tributes, anyone and everyone has found their own way of paying their respects in the months since.

Taking the sustained sentiment even further, local art collective GRIT Studios is now planning to erect a massive mural in his memory.

Writing on the fundraising page’s description, GRIT say: “Inspired by Ian Brown’s eulogy to Mani at Manchester Cathedral, a major community crowdfunder is being launched to create a large-scale mural honouring the beloved bassist of The Stone Roses and Primal Scream and to raise funds for Maggie’s Manchester.

“The mural, which will be created in Failsworth, where young Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield grew up, has been initiated by the team at GRIT Studios following an overwhelming outpouring of love from fans across Greater Manchester and beyond.

“Mani’s brother, Greg Mounfield, is supporting this campaign and has facilitated a prominent, large wall space for the mural and chosen the design.

They go on to to explan that the piece “will be painted by the renowned artist Pic.One.Art, whose recent portrait of Noel and Liam Gallagher outside the iconic Sifters Records in Burnage became an instant landmark and received widespread attention.”

Speaking of Brown’s now viral speech, it still remains one of the most touching bits of public observance and shared mourning this city has ever seen – with a healthy little dose of Northern levity, of course.

@the.manc Yesterday, Manchester laid one of the city's greatest music legends, Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield, to rest at Manchester Cathedral. 🍋 Fellow band member and life-long friend Ian Brown read out a speech as hundreds gathered outside the cathedral to pay their respects to The Stone Roses and Primal Scream bassist. Mani will be missed by many, and we send love to all his family and friends. ❤️ #manchester #mani #ianbrown #thestoneroses #stoneroses ♬ original sound – The Manc

“Since Mani passed away in November, countless fans have expressed a desire to see a tribute in the place that shaped him in North Manchester”, they continue.

“GRIT Studios, the not-for-profit art studios organisation, has stepped forward to organise a community-led, crowdfunded project that celebrates Mani’s life, music and spirit.

“It will not only fund the creation of the mural, but all profits will go to Maggie’s Manchester, which was close to Mani and his wife Imelda’s hearts during her cancer treatment and for whom they fundraised.

With a target of £10,000 set and more than £6k already raised in just a matter of days, it looks to be a matter of when, not if, we’ll see Mani immortalised in paint, on brick and with typical Manc grit over in the borough of Oldham.

For anyone who wishes to contribute to the fast-growing Mani mural crowdfunder, you can do so HERE.

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — @aktivioslo (via Flickr)/GRIT Studios (via Facebook)

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