{"id":681927,"date":"2026-07-09T08:03:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T08:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/681927\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T08:03:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T08:03:09","slug":"frump-well-and-truly-dumped-ms-to-celebrate-100-years-at-london-fashion-week-marks-spencer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/681927\/","title":{"rendered":"Frump well and truly dumped: M&S to celebrate 100 years at London fashion week | Marks & Spencer"},"content":{"rendered":"

This autumn\u2019s London fashion week<\/a> boasts plenty of familiar labels, from Burberry to Alexander McQueen, ready to show off their wares. But on Wednesday there was an unexpected addition: Marks & Spencer is joining the luxury lineup.<\/p>\n

The British high-street retailer will celebrate its 100th anniversary in the fashion industry by staging a catwalk show in September highlighting its latest women\u2019s and menswear collections.<\/p>\n

Stuart Machin, the chief executive of M&S, said the decision to show at LFW was an opportunity to \u201cshowcase our designs on fashion\u2019s global stage\u201d and was part of the retailer\u2019s wider efforts to transform itself into a go-to fashion destination<\/a> for high-street shoppers.<\/p>\n

Laura Weir, the chief executive of the British Fashion Council, described M&S as \u201cone of the great icons of the British high street\u201d, adding that the retailer had played \u201can important role in the nation\u2019s retail and cultural story for generations\u201d.<\/p>\n

A model in the paddock before the Grand Prix at Silverstone. Photograph: Simon Galloway\/LAT Images<\/p>\n

M&S\u2019s debut LFW catwalk show will be livestreamed for customers who want to tune in from home. Unlike most luxury brands where the pieces on the catwalk don\u2019t arrive in stores until months later, the M&S collections will immediately be available to buy online and in its bigger stores.<\/p>\n

Catherine Shuttleworth, a retail consultant and the chief executive of Savvy Marketing, said the decision by M&S to take part in LFW showed \u201ca confidence around its fashion credentials\u201d.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the group\u2019s annual meeting in London on Tuesday, Machin said the retailer had successfully \u201cdumped the frump\u201d \u2013 a reference to a comment made in 2016 by its then chief executive, Steve Rowe, who described the retailer as having a reputation for \u201cfrumpiness\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Models walk for M&S at Silverstone. Photograph: Simon Galloway\/LAT Images<\/p>\n

Machin, who succeeded Rowe in 2022, is on a mission to transform the business with a focus on boosting sales and profits by appealing to a younger fashion-focused customer.<\/p>\n

Maddy Evans, M&S\u2019s head of womenswear, who joined the brand in 2019, has also been crucial in its turnaround. The approach includes trend-driven monthly product drops that appeal to customers looking for newness alongside items that garner virality on social media. Barrel leg rather than skinny jeans, mesh jelly shoes and lightweight funnel neck jackets, all at a snip of the price of designer equivalents, have helped shift M&S\u2019s age demographic from the 55+ bracket towards those in their 20s and early 30s.<\/p>\n

M&S launched its summer collection with a fashion show in Ibiza. Composite: M&S<\/p>\n

For a retailer previously best known for knickers and vests, it is a radical change of direction. Quick to riff on luxury trends, its more affordable takes have become catnip on social media. On TikTok, videos such as \u201crate my M&S haul\u201d and \u201cunbox my M&S order\u201d rack up thousands of views. Trending items this month included kitten-heeled flip-flops<\/a> similar to those worn by the model Hailey Bieber, Chlo\u00e9-esque floaty lace tops<\/a> and Missoni-inspired striped knitted dresses<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, when Love Story mania<\/a> was in full swing, M&S was quick to release a collection<\/a> inspired by the 90s style of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy which included a loose white shirt and black slip dress.<\/p>\n

In June, the retailer launched its summer collection with a fashion show in Ibiza, hosted by the Chicken Shop Date presenter Amelia Dimoldenberg, which featured a purpose-built, see-through catwalk constructed over a giant swimming pool. Last week it took over the pit lane at Silverstone to launch another collection, with models walking against the backdrop of its F1 garages hours before the British Grand Prix got under way.<\/p>\n

A model on the catwalk in Ibiza. Photograph: M&S<\/p>\n

These shows follow the appointment of celebrity ambassadors including Gillian Anderson and Claudia Winkleman, sellout collaborations with the actor Sienna Miller and the designer Bella Freud, alongside a decision to stock other brands including the ethically focused Nobody\u2019s Child<\/a> and the wedding guest go-to Ghost London. The retail expert Elizabeth Stiles said such initiatives have \u201celevated perceptions of the whole business\u201d.<\/p>\n

M&S now holds just over 10% market share of total national clothing sales and has 12 million female customers. Quite the feat for a retailer that fell out of the FTSE 100<\/a> in 2019 (returning four years later) and suffered another devastating blow in 2025 when it was hit by a cyber-attack<\/a> which left shoppers unable to buy online for several months and almost wiped out its profits.<\/p>\n

Celebrities watch the Topshop Unique spring\/summer 2006 at London fashion week in September 2005. Photograph: David Lodge\/FilmMagic<\/p>\n

Its debut at London<\/a> fashion week follows in the footsteps of Topshop, which became the first high-street brand to show on schedule in 2005. Cos will show at September\u2019s New York fashion week, while last September Cos\u2019s sister brand H&M opened London fashion week with a show starring the Vogue models Alex Consani and Paloma Elsesser.<\/p>\n

However, M&S\u2019s focus on younger shoppers has left some shareholders concerned the strategy risks alienating its traditional customer base. During its AGM, Machin said he had been approached in store by a customer who complained that its dresses had become \u201call sleeveless\u201d and \u201ca bit skimpy\u201d. His \u201cstylish 78-year-old mother\u201d had also given him feedback, including that tops were \u201cgetting a bit short\u201d. As a result, future pieces including those on September\u2019s catwalk, will feature items that \u201ccover the tum, tops and bum\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This autumn\u2019s London fashion week boasts plenty of familiar labels, from Burberry to Alexander McQueen, ready to show…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":681928,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[84,59,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-681927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-gb","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=681927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681927\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/681928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=681927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=681927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=681927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}