The retailer has been focusing on “newer styles and relevant trends” to attract younger customers, says Illis.
But she says that this has been achieved without compromising on quality which is what keeps M&S’s core audience on board.
“They have created a modern version of everything we know and love – cashmere staples, knitwear and the lingerie department,” says Nnadi.
Clark agrees that M&S has been nailing “funnel neck [styles] and barrel jeans, which are filtering down from high fashion”.
M&S has perhaps been fortunate to rebrand at a time when consumer habits are changing, as young shoppers consider buying capsule wardrobes – a smaller number of staple pieces that can be styled in a variety of ways.
Clark notes that the idea of wear-it-once fast fashion has declined as people “are looking for [foundational pieces] to rotate”.
This is something Perrie Sian, one of Britain’s biggest fashion influencers, has also noticed. The 34-year-old tells the BBC: “The real height of fast fashion is behind us”.
“As a group we’ve changed our shopping habits and M&S slots into that,” she says. “In my content and with lots of other creators we’re showing people how to wear things in multiple ways, how to look after them.”
She added that she is noticing “people are willing to spend a little bit more” on wardrobe staples and items that “wash well and are made of cotton, not acrylic or polyester”.
