Nostalgia is a powerful drug.

The Oasis comeback tour in the UK and Ireland has already generated around £400 million in ticket sales, and it’s estimated that it’s generated around £1 billion in total spend through travel and merchandise.

And the only catalyst for the fervour that’s driven all this is good old nostalgia. Because there is no new music here. You’re buying the past – in truth, a slightly jaded regurgitation of the past (from what I gather they didn’t put that on their posters).

Retail is under the same spell, of course. Young people can’t get enough of 90s Nike sneakers. Every fashion brand from Gap to Gant, mass market or niche, is trying to capture new customers by telling old stories.

And I get it. In a world where online brands come and go and 80% of new businesses disappear in their first few years, sharing your history is innately powerful. 

Simply having been around for a while has a certain credibility, and “cool” is often just a re-hashing of old trends.

But nostalgia alone will only go so far. And I’m yet to see what else is going to give the Topshop comeback either any real meaning or long-term commercial success.

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