When did River Island get so good?

When did River Island get so good? It's not a shop that I visit on a regular basis but I do pop by whenever I need some sexy shoes or cool accessories for a video and most makeup artists I know all seem to own a pair of jeans from River Island. It seems like River Island has been quietly having a makeover and everyone is starting to take notice.

We recently saw the return of Chelsea Girl, an 80's inspired 40 piece collection, go into 40 River Island stores, while edited ranges went into another 150 of River Island's stores. There was also a pop-up shop in Selfridges on Oxford Street and they sell at ASOS. It was really their magazine that peaked my interested and now Ellen Von Unworth has just shot another campaign for them!