M&S makes London show debut to woo new shoppers after 100 years in fashion

Marks & Spencer made its London Fashion Week debut on Friday, using the high-profile event to showcase its style credentials ‌and broaden the British retailer's appeal to shoppers at home and abroad, both in-store and online. With signature pieces ranging from a tuxedo and white shirt to twinsets, knitwear, outerwear and floral prints, one of Britain's biggest high street names marked 100 years in ‌fashion with archive-inspired womenswear and menswear collections.

Under Stuart Machin, its CEO since 2022, M&S has prioritised restoring its reputation for ‌value, quality and style as it seeks to attract younger, fashion-conscious shoppers, with half of the collection on show priced at below £50 ($67). Unlike many of the global designers and brands also showing at the London event, the 59 M&S runway looks were available to buy immediately after the show, online ⁠in Britain ​and Europe and in 10 flagship ⁠stores across the UK and Ireland.

"This is a showcase of our latest collection to all of our current and loyal customers, but it's about ⁠broadening our audience as well," Maddy Evans, M&S' womenswear director, told Reuters at the event. Celebrity guests at the M&S show included Kemi Badenoch, leader ​of the opposition Conservative Party, actress Joan Collins and former Arsenal soccer player Ian Wright. It will be streamed ⁠later on the websites of M&S and its European partner Zalando.

M&S, which has a more than 10% share of Britain's fashion market and whose fashion, home ⁠and ​beauty division serves 23 million customers, is revamping its supply chain while investing in stores and strengthening data and digital capabilities. Machin is aiming to make M&S a truly omnichannel retailer, by targeting a doubling of FH&B's online sales over ⁠the long term from about £1.4 billion in 2024/25 and increasing online's share of FH&B sales from about 34% to 50% in ⁠the medium term.

In May, ⁠M&S forecast a return to profit growth this year after it slumped 24% in 2025/26 as a result of a cyberattack. Shares in M&S are up 8% so far this year, ‌helped by strong growth ‌in food sales.

($1 = 0.7487 pounds)