The latest trend on the British high street is not a hemline but a concept: fashion, it seems, is going out of fashion. In their newest effort to fight for survival, high street stalwarts John Lewis and Marks & Spencer are eschewing seasonal “key pieces” and “must haves” to focus on individualism and personal style.
This week, John Lewis unveiled its overhauled in-house womenswear range for autumn/winter. The 300-piece collection – to be launched as part of a major rebrand and store refitting programme on 4 September – “is about style over fashion”, according to Iain Ewing, the head of womenswear. “One thing that came back really clearly from our customers,” he says, “was that they wanted to know whatever they bought wouldn’t go out of fashion in six months.”
