PAULA Varjack's first word was "shoes" so perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that fashion is the subject of her one-woman show heading to York.

"Apparently my first word, at the age of two, was not 'mum' or 'dad' but 'shoes'. I think my grandmother found this amusing, and maybe it was some kind of sign," said Paula, who grew up in America and moved to London aged 17 to go to drama school.

Today her love of fashion is taking over her living space. "In every room I have had, it is my clothes and shoes that have taken up the most space."

She is bringing her show, The Cult of K*NZO, to York Theatre Royal on April 25, which is inspired by her own passion for Japanese designer label Kenzo.

Her obsession reached its height in 2016 when she found herself queuing at 4am outside a London fashion store to be the first in line to buy exclusive designs from Kenzo’s collaboration with Swedish fast fashion chain H&M.

Five hours later she and 20 others were given ten minutes to shop in a cordoned-off section of the store. After paying at a till staffed by cheering and applauding sales assistants, Paula emerged carrying the largest shopping bag she had ever carried - having spent a small fortune.

"I spent as much in ten minutes as I usually do in a year," says Paula.

The episode sparked her creative instincts, and she began investigating the lure of luxury labels and their connections to our desires.

The shopping frenzy was also in contrast to her usual retail habits. "Most of my clothes are from eBay or charity shops," she says.

"My preference is for second-hand because I hate the idea of looking like other people and hate to have something other people have.

"Second-hand items have a story to tell; another life."

As part of the research for the show, Paula did various residencies at theatres across the country. One challenge was to head out from the theatre and buy a new outfit in the local shops, spending no more than £50.

It was a fun challenge, visiting both high-street stores and charity shops, but she discovered something interesting too.

"You can tell quite a lot about a place by its stores and what people donate to charity. Very quickly patterns emerge and create differences between places – what labels are popular, the size range, the quality and level of wear of what is sold, and the existence, or not, of a high street or shopping centres and what stores are present."

In Brighton, she was surprised to find lots of high-quality vintage designer accessories and clothes in charity shops given that it had few boutiques selling up-market labels. And she found a real gem: a vintage Valentino slip dress for £30 that she later resold on eBay for more than twice that amount.

She added: "In Stockton, where the high street is all but decimated, and most shop fronts are empty, I found the lowest sale prices, and cheapest charity shops. Yet Debenhams had a well stocked YSL makeup counter and the nail salons were full."

She picked up some interesting outfits along the way, including a 1970s turquoise satin jumpsuit from a second-hand shop in Leeds that she teamed with leopard-print accessories from the high street.

Paula incorporates storytelling, videography, puppetry, animation and dance into her show, which is touring 12 theatres in the UK.

She said: "It looks at the mysterious allure of high end. Why do we want the things that we want? What’s in a brand?"

So far, people aged from 17 to 70 have been in the audience. And it's not just for fashionistas, insists Paula.

"It's for people who just love fashion and those who are just curious. Some people don't get it: why anybody would spend that amount of money on clothes. Why anybody would queue up overnight for a dress."

Or blow their annual clothing budget in a ten-minute shopping spree.

Find out more and book tickets: yorktheatreroyal.co.uk