Just when you thought you’d learned the entire Highcross layout by heart, four new shops are moving in this winter.
Highcross Leicester is getting a mini retail shake-up, with new arrivals covering everything from goth clothes and jewellery to shoes, hair, beauty and, yes, actual piercings.
The four names heading to the shopping centre are Blue Banana, Unze London, Harli + Harpa and Taz Hair & Beauty.
And some of them are opening very soon.
Blue Banana is bringing the goth era back
Arguably the most interesting newcomer is Blue Banana, which opens on the Lower Mall on November 7.
If your teenage years involved eyeliner, studded belts, My Chemical Romance and trying to convince your parents that this wasn’t a phase, you might already know this one.
Blue Banana has been around since 1997 and specialises in alternative fashion, with goth, punk and emo clothing alongside band merch, accessories and body jewellery.
It’s taking a unit next to Damaged Society and, crucially, the shop will also offer in-store piercings.
So yes, you can apparently pop into Highcross for some socks and emerge with a new hole in your face.
Unze London is making a Leicester comeback
Next up is Unze London, which is returning to Leicester nearly two decades after previously having a shop in the city.
The footwear and fashion retailer is taking over the former Footasylum unit, opening a pretty chunky 5,443 sq ft store and creating 10 jobs.
Unze was originally founded in London in 1989 and is now headquartered in Lahore, Pakistan, with 36 international stores and another in Ilford, East London.
Its new Leicester shop is expected to open in early December.
Interestingly, this isn’t Unze’s first Leicester rodeo. The retailer previously had a store in the city back in 2007, so consider this the comeback tour.
Harli + Harpa is taking over the old Claire’s
Anyone still mourning the loss of Claire’s from its old unit will soon have something new to investigate.
Australian-born jewellery brand Harli + Harpa is moving into the former Claire’s store on Highcross’ Upper Mall.
It’s a much newer name than the others, having only been established in 2024, and sells affordable contemporary jewellery designed around stacking and layering pieces together.
The brand already has UK stores in Birmingham, Reading and Glasgow, with Leicester joining the list at the end of November.
Basically, if you’re incapable of walking past a jewellery shop without convincing yourself you need another ring, proceed with caution.
And a Leicester beauty business is moving in too
Finally, there’s Taz Hair & Beauty, which is a little closer to home.
Founded by Leicester-born Taz Sumra, the business offers hair styling, makeup and bridal services and has grown from Taz doing hair and makeup for family and friends into a professional beauty business.
It will open on the Upper Mall in the former Argento unit and is expected to arrive before Christmas.
The new salon will join an increasingly beauty-heavy Highcross line-up which already includes Laser Clinics UK, Therapie Clinic and Better Brows.
Blue Banana opens 7 November, Harli + Harpa lands at the end of November, Unze follows in early December and Taz Hair & Beauty should be open before Christmas.
