HIGH END HIGH STREET

But are the new luxury lines worth the extra money? Our fashion editor’s verdict . . .

High Street pricing is always reassuringly predictable. A white shirt for less than £25? Thank you very much. A pretty frock for £40? We’ll treat ourselves.

So it’s rather disconcerting to walk into Zara or John Lewis and discover high-end versions of their signature designs at two or even three times the price. These new, premium ranges claim to be more exclusive and luxurious than the bargain basics. And certainly no expense has been spared in seducing us to buy them.

Zara hired Vogue photographer Steven Meisel to shoot the latest collection of its premium Studio line, while sister label Massimo Dutti staged a catwalk show in Paris for its new Limited Edition collection — the sort of treatment once reserved for haughty high-end designers.

John Lewis’s head of womenswear buying, Jo Bennett, describes its Modern Rarity label as ‘a luxury, ready-to-wear line built on the ethos of fewer, better pieces’. Meanwhile, Boden’s Mariam Boutorabi says its icons range uses luxurious fabrics.

The idea is certainly clever. The pricing and finer design details are meant to make us feel we are buying something special — and at a cost that’s still considerably less than that of a designer piece.

But in the cold light of day, are the fancy buys from cheap and cheerful high Street favourites really worth the mark-up? We pitted them against their ‘basic’ rivals to find out...