“No saving things for best” is a clever slogan to get shoppers to buy more. But as some observers have pointed out, Thelma & Louise drive their car off a cliff at the end of the movie. Those same observers were quick to indicate that this is effectively how many M&S clothing customers felt when they heard the news last year that the retailer will close 30 stores and convert 45 to food-only supermarkets in 2017. Why invest in an M&S coat when M&S is investing in Gastropub paella meal deals and a delivery service that can drop it on your doorstep?
Belinda Earl and Jo Jenkins, style director and director of womenswear, lingerie and beauty insist the shift is in-line with customer spending habits. “The website has everything now,” says Earl, speaking to Vogue at the press preview of the new autumn/winter 2017 collection. “The realignment in space is really just about us making sure we’ve got the right offer for customers in terms of how they’re shopping and where they’re shopping. So, certain stores will have more, certain stores will have less.”
The revamped website is a key element of the “realignment”, with more attention being placed on the editorial features enticing shoppers to click through to purchase. “Our customers see things in magazines and they often go straight online,” says Earl. “And then everything else has been graded according to size and profile of the store.”
Grading the fashion, on the other hand, is a matter of buzzwords. A tour of the showroom led by Jenkins and design director Queralt Ferrer reveals the key pieces for autumn have all been through the same vetting process. “We need to make sure that everything we’re doing goes through that filter: is it simple, is it stylish, is it ageless?” says Jenkins. On balance, the answer for this autumn offering is: yes.
The revamped website is a key element of the “realignment”, with more attention being placed on the editorial features enticing shoppers to click through to purchase. “Our customers see things in magazines and they often go straight online,” says Earl. “And then everything else has been graded according to size and profile of the store.”
Grading the fashion, on the other hand, is a matter of buzzwords. A tour of the showroom led by Jenkins and design director Queralt Ferrer reveals the key pieces for autumn have all been through the same vetting process. “We need to make sure that everything we’re doing goes through that filter: is it simple, is it stylish, is it ageless?” says Jenkins. On balance, the answer for this autumn offering is: yes.
What do you need to buy? Set your sights on the £99 check coat. “We’re all dying for this one,” says Jenkins. “The good thing about the colour mix” – red, navy, black, cream and grey are all woven into the tweed – “is that you can pair it with anything.” Equally delicious is the teddy bear coat, £79, which has more than a whiff of Max Mara about it. Then there’s the sharply cut cashmere-wool mix city coat, £119, which comes in eight colours.
The catwalk references are strong. A lovely lightweight tweed grey shirt and trouser pairing nods to a Chloé look that many fashion editors, including myself, lusted after in February. There’s a Dior-esque navy blue dotted dress in a lightweight tulle fabric for £45 that will be a chic Christmas party option, especially when styled with a choker. I liked the printed velvet pieces, another autumn trend diluted by a forgiving silhouette. M&S is also gently encouraging tonal dressing for autumn, and it’s backing red in all its variations: witness a Balenciaga-style cranberry draped dress paired with tomato red knee-high boots, and a plummy-toned silk shirt with a scarf-neckline styled with matching red trousers (for the faint of heart, there’s also a navy version, the M&S team are keen to point out).
On the subject of boots: race you to the till for the hot red ankle boots with a metal stiletto heel that are racier than anything seen on the M&S shop floor for years. The footwear is particularly desirable: another member of the Vogue team had her eye on the jewel-toned satin stilettos that nod to Manolo Blahnik’s cult crystal-buckled pumps but have a modest £35 price tag.
The catwalk references are strong. A lovely lightweight tweed grey shirt and trouser pairing nods to a Chloé look that many fashion editors, including myself, lusted after in February. There’s a Dior-esque navy blue dotted dress in a lightweight tulle fabric for £45 that will be a chic Christmas party option, especially when styled with a choker. I liked the printed velvet pieces, another autumn trend diluted by a forgiving silhouette. M&S is also gently encouraging tonal dressing for autumn, and it’s backing red in all its variations: witness a Balenciaga-style cranberry draped dress paired with tomato red knee-high boots, and a plummy-toned silk shirt with a scarf-neckline styled with matching red trousers (for the faint of heart, there’s also a navy version, the M&S team are keen to point out).
On the subject of boots: race you to the till for the hot red ankle boots with a metal stiletto heel that are racier than anything seen on the M&S shop floor for years. The footwear is particularly desirable: another member of the Vogue team had her eye on the jewel-toned satin stilettos that nod to Manolo Blahnik’s cult crystal-buckled pumps but have a modest £35 price tag.
Can’t wait ‘til autumn? M&S knows that May sees a rise in searches for “dress” online, so five £45 dresses will go on sale today, some with the much-vaunted super fluted sleeve that is currently acting as a panacea in stores in the form of a hot pink shift dress. Wear it now, then pop a polo neck underneath come winter, is the way they’re selling it. And as for the right bra? Soozie Jenkinson, head of lingerie, active and swim, says soft-cup bralettes are flying. Let’s hope the rest really does follow.
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