Marks and Spencer to make London Fashion Week debut alongside luxury designers
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The high-street stalwart is set to appear alongside designer labels that have traditionally defined the event.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Marks and Spencer (M&S) Group will make its London Fashion Week debut this autumn as the British retailer seeks to burnish its fashion credentials.
The high-street stalwart is set to appear alongside designer labels that have traditionally defined the event, including luxury names such as Burberry and Mulberry.
London Fashion Week, which runs in September each year, has been grappling with rising costs and a slowdown in luxury spending, and is now increasingly leaning into brand partnerships.
In 2025, the event’s organisers – the British Fashion Council (BFC) – had to permanently cancel the standalone edition in June. At four days long, the autumn event has shrunk to half the duration of the Paris shows.
For M&S, it’s the latest move to make inroads in the fashion business. The supermarket has undergone an overhaul of its design strategy and has taken steps to grow internationally, launching its clothing range in Nordstrom department stores in the US in March.
M&S has also been dipping its toe into runway fashion, hosting its own show at the British Grand Prix last weekend, where it was one of the event’s sponsors.
Discussions with the BFC occurred over the past few months, M&S said. The catwalk in September will showcase menswear and womenswear collections and the range will be available to customers to purchase online and in stores nationwide.
The arrival of M&S could bring more media attention to the London event, and with it, greater financial backing, but it’s still more of a mass-market category, unlike comparable shows in continental Europe, which tend to focus on high-end brands.
While London schools such as Central Saint Martins are known for their talented alumni like Alexander McQueen and John Galliano, the clout of the British capital’s fashion week is more modest compared with the Paris or Milan shows, which present collections from brands like Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci.
Burberry tends to be the only major name at the London show, with even the British brand Victoria Beckham picking Paris for her unveilings. BLOOMBERG
