This autumn, we will mostly be wearing optimism…
From hardworking dresses you can buy now to colourful cashmere coats, Kate Finnigan was pleasantly surprised at a preview of Marks & Spencer’s new collection
Listening is one of life’s great skills and it’s not an easy one to master. It takes patience and a bit of humility to open your ears to other people’s views – particularly when you’re a national retail treasure and on the receiving end of a barrage of opinions.
But at the launch of Marks & Spencer’s AW collection yesterday it was clear that the design team have been listening, and are now acting in the interest of a savvy, fashion-forward woman. Nudge, nudge: that’s us, ladies.
By way of a little amuse-bouche for next season, they’ve kicked off with a capsule collection of see-now, buy-now dresses.
This came about through that clever new form of listening: data analytics. Research showed that May is the peak month for women searching online for dresses, both on M&S’S own site and on Google. And so, in response to that, from today you can buy a small selection of dresses to see you through to the autumn and beyond – the best of which is a mid-length tie-back flared-sleeve tunic in blue or a cream floral (pictured). They’re the kind of thing you can throw on over T-shirts, shirts or rollnecks when the weather is changeable – like now, for example.
The rest of the new collection will arrive instore from September. Stand-out pieces include a Stevie Nicks-style burgundy tiered velvet dress and matching shoes (where’s my tambourine?), a heritage check coat, dark red knee-high boots and jewelled party heels.
The chain has moved beyond those “pink coat” years when there would be one standout “fashion” piece made for the press to get excited about, but which never seemed to be available in store. Now they’re getting multiple things right and repeating or echoing them throughout the collection – whether that’s in asymmetrichemmed dresses or skirts, interesting takes on the long sleeve or a colour palette of rich reds, oranges and blues popping up across clothes, outerwear and accessories. Nowhere is the desire to deliver better illustrated than in a woolcashmere coat, which comes in eight colourways, from camel through forest green to pillar-box red.
Colour has been a big deal for the
design team. “We want to head into September feeling optimistic with strong colour choice that’s seasonally relevant and to avoid that idea of the store looking too wintry too soon,” said Jo Jenkins, director of womenswear, lingerie and beauty. “Our customers love colour and they’ve been asking for more.”
This doesn’t mean rainbow madness but rather a sophisticated teaming of tonal colours together – shades of red or blue, and subtle colour clashing.
There’s a lightness of touch in the design references – not as much Gucci pastiche as there has been in recent seasons past.
The navy blue tulle party-wear – midnight blue with glimmering constellations strewn across a skirt, dress and sweater – may well have echoes of Dior’s autumn collection, but it works. And, yes, I said tulle. In M&S. Better still, it’s tulle that’s soft to the touch rather than prickly, as you might expect from a high street treatment.
Quality, and the feel of fabrics, has been important in the mix – tweed, velvet, brocade. Our team oohed over the snuggly teddy-bear coats and even basic ribbed long-sleeved rollnecks for layering – and we’re not easily pleased.
In January, M&S had its first quarterly rise in clothing sales in two years, suggesting a corner has been turned under new boss Steve Rowe. With this collection the design team has good reason to keep spreading the optimism.
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