Goodbye frump, hello TikTok: M&S to celebrate 100 years with London fashion week show

M&S took over the pit lane at Silverstone with models walking against a backdrop of F1 garages hours before the British Grand Prix got under way. Photograph: Mark Sutton/Formula 1/Getty View image in fullscreen M&S took over the pit lane at Silverstone with models walking against a backdrop of F1 garages hours before the British Grand Prix got under way. Photograph: Mark Sutton/Formula 1/Getty Goodbye frump, hello TikTok: M&S to celebrate 100 years with London fashion week show Reputation for frumpiness is over as M&S wins over younger audience with shows at Silverstone, Ibiza and now LFW T his autumn’s London fashion week boasts plenty of familiar labels, from Burberry to Alexander McQueen, ready to show off their wares. But on Wednesday there was an unexpected addition: Marks & Spencer is joining the luxury lineup. The British high-street retailer will celebrate its 100th anniversary in the fashion industry by staging a catwalk show in September highlighting its latest women’s and menswear collections. Stuart Machin, the chief executive of M&S, said the decision to show at LFW was an opportunity to “showcase our designs on fashion’s global stage” and was part of the retailer’s wider efforts to transform itself into a go-to fashion destination for high-street shoppers. Laura Weir, the chief executive of the British Fashion Council, described M&S as “one of the great icons of the British high street”, adding that the retailer had played “an important role in the nation’s retail and cultural story for generations”. View image in fullscreen A model in the paddock before the Grand Prix at Silverstone. Photograph: Simon Galloway/LAT Images M&S’s debut LFW catwalk show will be livestreamed for customers who want to tune in from home. Unlike most luxury brands where the pieces on the catwalk don’t arrive in stores until months later, the M&S collections will immediately be available to buy online and in its bigger stores. Catherine Shuttleworth, a retail consultant and the chief executive of Savvy Marketing, said the decision by M&S to take part in LFW showed “a confidence around its fashion credentials”. Speaking at the group’s annual meeting in London on Tuesday, Machin said the retailer had successfully “dumped the frump” – a reference to a comment made in 2016 by its then chief executive, Steve Rowe, who described the retailer as having a reputation for “frumpiness” . View image in fullscreen Models walk for M&S at Silverstone. Photograph: Simon Galloway/LAT Images Machin, who succeeded Rowe in 2022, is on a mission to transform the business with a focus on boosting sales and profits by appealing to a younger fashion-focused customer. Maddy Evans, M&S’s head of womenswear, who joined the brand in 2019, has also been crucial in its turnaround. The approach includes trend-driven monthly product drops that appeal to customers looking for newness alongside items that garner virality on social media. Barrel leg rather than skinny jeans, mesh jelly shoes