High street brands that boomed in the noughties before the squeeze of both sustainably minded consumers and the rise of ultra-cheap online labels are staging a comeback.<\/p>\n
This time, rather than focusing solely on trend-led affordable designs, the names familiar to any shopper are courting luxury fashion, A-list collaborations and enhanced services in an attempt to engage consumers.<\/p>\n
Think Gap\u2019s new collection with Victoria Beckham. Or Marks & Spencer showcasing a covetable catwalk collection at London fashion week with celebrities including Joan Collins and assorted gen Z Gallaghers in attendance, then making it available to buy immediately, with half of the pieces under \u00a350. Topshop relaunched last year and now has concessions in 30 John Lewis<\/a> stores, as well as the luxury retailer Liberty.<\/p>\n Lisa Illis, the head of design at M&S, describes their recent catwalk show as \u201cmaking the buzz of London fashion week accessible to everyone\u201d. She says \u201cmore fashion-informed seasonal collections\u201d have seen the number of under-35s shopping at the retailer increase 16% year on year.<\/p>\n M&S launched a covetable collection at London fashion week, with celebrities in the frow. Photograph: Katie Collins\/Reuters<\/p>\n The Hollywood stylist Law Roach<\/a>, whose clients include Zendaya, has been appointed stylist-in-residence at Asos, where his influence will be felt not just in advertising campaigns, but also through his suggestions on different items from across the site to wear together.<\/p>\n \u201cIn research, we found that 68% of consumers say what they need to know is how to wear something,\u201d says Vanessa Spence, Asos\u2019s executive vice-president of brand.<\/p>\n The online retailer has added AI stylists, virtual try-on tools and a Buy the Look option, which allows consumers to buy an outfit in one go, a feature that Spence says is very popular. \u201cWe\u2019re helping customers find pieces that they want to wear. Then they can get more from every purchase and extend the life of their product.\u201d<\/p>\n Ella Baynes, insight manager at retail consultants Savvy Marketing, says the shift shows brands are adapting to the more sophisticated ways consumers are approaching fashion, particularly online. \u201cInstead of competing directly, [these retailers] are borrowing some of luxury fashion\u2019s cultural cues,\u201d she says. \u201cYou\u2019re meeting both that shopper aspiration, but also the shopper reality [with the price].\u201d<\/p>\n Asos\u2019s extensive adaptive collection for disabled customers also shows this broader way of thinking. The company worked with disabled consultancy Tilting the Lens on the range. \u201cThere is an ability to develop, even for yourself, a capsule collection,\u201d says founder and disability advocate Sin\u00e9ad Burke, who has achondroplasia, the most common form of restricted growth. \u201cIt\u2019s not just one suit, it\u2019s not just one skirt, you can customise the pieces. You can wear the magnetic waistcoat with the pants. We hope what we\u2019re giving people is greater choice.\u201d<\/p>\n Sin\u00e9ad Burke at this year\u2019s Met Gala. Photograph: Sarah Yenesel\/EPA<\/p>\n Crucially, these items are affordable \u2013 nothing is more than \u00a365 \u2013 which is particularly important for disabled people, 46% of whom are not in work in the UK. \u201cWhenever we\u2019re looking at shopper attitude, cost is absolutely king,\u201d confirms Baynes.<\/p>\n For Asos in particular, which registered a sharp decline in sales post-Covid and new competition from ultra-cheap brands like Shein, an overhaul was needed. Sales were down 12% last August<\/a>. A cost-cutting drive, including charging for returns, helped the site turn a corner, and they announced a 50% growth of profits this March, although the impact of a cyber-attack at the beginning of October is yet to become clear.<\/p>\n Andrea Cheong, fashion commentator and author of Why Don\u2019t I Have Anything to Wear?, regularly posts Instagram videos reviewing different items from affordable brands, in order to assess how well made they are. She has noticed that brands are not signposting their environmental credentials as much as they once did \u2013 due to a combination of criticism from campaigners, cost and the rise of conservatism. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t something that was very lucrative once the economy was in decline, and then bring politics into it, that has a huge impact,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n At M&S, which first launched its eco-commitments in 2007, value and sustainability are not competing priorities. \u201cBy designing pieces with longevity in mind, from everyday wardrobe staples to more fashion-led seasonal collections, we\u2019re helping customers build wardrobes they\u2019ll wear and love for longer,\u201d says Illis.<\/p>\n But regardless of making more enduring styles, retailers are always up against changeable consumer behaviour \u2013 and damning statistics like the estimate that a garment is on average worn seven times before it is thrown away<\/a>.<\/p>\n Even if brands are borrowing from the luxury playbook, the reality may not always match up, argues Cheong. \u201cHowever much they try to elevate what it is, it is not the same [fabric] that they use at, for example, Dior.\u201d The use of human-made fibres in ranges like the M&S catwalk collection and Asos Adaptive is just one example of the difference between high fashion and high street.<\/p>\n Many gen Z and millennial customers shop secondhand, says Cheong. Photograph: Photononstop\/Alamy<\/p>\n