After decades in a wilderness of dowdy frocks and depressing rows of frumpy trousers, Marks & Spencer is finally recovering its fashion credentials.
The revival at the High Street stalwart is down to a crack Style Squad who have, for the past three years, been overhauling every aspect of the clothes on the rails.
It includes high powered female bosses Maddy Evans, director of womenswear; design supremo Lisa Illis; merchandising guru Helen Wilson and director of sourcing and tech, Monique Leeuwenburgh.
Dressed to impress: A model wearing a £49 denim miniskirt from M&S
Richard Price, who joined M&S in 2020 after a long career at Next, is in overall charge of clothing, including menswear and childrenswear, as well as homeware.
The figures speak for themselves. M&S recently told the City it will make more profit than expected this year, boosted by a 6 per cent rise in sales of clothing and homeware in the first five months of 2023.
M&S shares, which were booted out of the elite FTSE 100 index in 2019 look to be heading back, having risen more than 70 per cent in 2023 so far.
The chain is also moving into empty stores previously occupied by Debenhams, the department store brand that went bust in 2021.
So how is it all going so right? And after so many false dawns, is it really?
The Mail on Sunday went behind the scenes with Price in the Kingston upon Thames store and with Evans in the design rooms at its Paddington headquarters to find out.
In Kingston, Price says, there has been a shift towards higher quality and more expensive outfits as the cost-of-living squeeze has prompted customers to look for clothes that are versatile and will last.
Fashion supremos: Helen Wilson, and the director of womenswear, Maddy Evans
M&S head of womenswear design, Lisa Illis
‘We have a £20 cotton T-shirt which is one of our best sellers, despite the fact we have others priced lower.’
According to Maddy Evans, impossibly chic at 50, M&S in the past ‘never quite got it right’ when it tried to pick up on a trend – either the cut, the colour, the length or the print would be subtly wrong.
Surrounded by the latest jeans, Evans explains how she brought to bear the fashion nous she picked up in a previous job at Top Shop.
It has resulted in a meticulously detailed review of every aspect of M&S fashion, from fit, colour palette and patterns, to pricing and display.
‘Between me, Lisa, Helen and the team, we have a pretty good sense of the aesthetic. We are trying to perfect every single detail on a dress, so it will fit and flatter most body shapes. We look at everything.’
They invested in fabrics and also simplified many of the ranges and pricing.
The team identified a number of ‘magic prices’ including £39.50 for dresses and jeans, where customers are happy to buy. As for sizing, Evans says that ‘from a fit perspective, we have a fantastically experienced technical team led by Monique’.
Pride: M&S managing director, Richard Price
The retailer uses ‘blocks’ or templates in each size for its garments, which are then tested through the range of sizes from 6 to 24.
The time between designing an item and seeing it in store has been radically shortened so that M&S can cash in on trends.
Evans says denim miniskirts flew out of the shops this summer because ‘we saw a trend, jumped on it and tested it really quickly’. Lisa Illis has a team of forecasters who try to spot the next big things.
The aim is to jump into a trend at precisely the right moment when it has spread from the cutting edge into the mainstream, and interpreting it in the right way for their customers who do not want to wear anything too extreme or that flashes too much flesh.
Trends that have trickled down to M&S this year include women’s waistcoats, crochet dresses and double denim.
M&S has forged a successful partnership with Ghost and introduced third-party brands such as Nobody’s Child into stores.
Price says he and the Style Squad are ‘restlessly dissatisfied’. But it is a good sign that some items have become so desirable that even Evans missed out.
‘I was coveting a little Chanel-esque knitted jacket but I just didn’t get there fast enough,’ she says. She and other disappointed customers should not despair.
Price says: ‘As a team we now celebrate sell-outs. We’re testing new styles and trends earlier and if it works, we go again.’
The textured knitted jacket, he adds, will be returning to stores in October.
