Alexa for Marks and Spencer

[Neveradullm0ment]

Have you seen the clothes? On news websites

[Wolpertinger]

I hope so please let the plan be scrapping Per Una

[IWannaHoldYourHand]

I love Jaeger too, but I only buy it from an outlet.

My friends wear the odd piece of m&s, though probably not as much as me. Living close to an outlet might be having an affect on us. My friends slightly older, 30-40 have said they're not old enough for m&s.

Going from the stuff I recognise my friends and I wear h&m, topshop, gap ( again, we live near an outlet and 70% off is hard to refuse), JL weekend and Kin, Cos, mint velvet and I've begun to notice a few bits from the Savannah Miller concession.

[SirChenjin]

Alexa Chung is 32?? I thought she was much younger...in which case, who the hell is M&S targeting?

[Floisme]

I know Sir. This is why I'm starting to wonder whether they're not as daft as we think; whether they're making a play for a different market, not us but not teenagers either. Or maybe I'm just getting carried away

To be honest, I'm not sure I want them to target middle aged women. No shop has ever, ever got that right for me. I wish they'd forget about age and just put out some modern basics in forgiving fabrics that fit well.

[niminypiminy]

Modern basics in forgiving fabrics that fit well = holy grail

[SirChenjin]

Agree Flo. I want some well cut basics (a bit quirky but not wacky iykwim?) that nod to trends but don't drown me in them - a bit like H&M and Zara (just off the top of my head) but better quality and fit.

[Tate15]

Unread it as there being 31 pieces in the collection, so we have only been shown a few so far.

I think Alexa was a good choice.

They used to have Lisa Snowdon modelling some of their clothes, now that was a bad choice!

[SuperFlyHigh]

Remus I think M&S look at everyone else doing what they want a piece of eg Whistles ignore what the customers want eg cotton or pure wool and probably it's cheaper to get it made in China, Romania etc... And so M&S think it's fine to produce zingy man made rubbish! Because whistles etc are so popular.

The other day a male coworker of mine bought a 100% cotton shirt very nice black buttons, dogtooth on white and we were impressed it was cotton.

I know a friend of a friend used to work doing main fashion stuff in HQ for River Island and as far as I know she now works at M&S in similar role not buying maybe design team, she's niece of my ex neighbour. I could ask her what drugs M&S are on! If she will divulge that is!

[SuperFlyHigh]

IWannaHoldyourhand exactly i tend to buy same as you, not mad keen on Mint Velvet but rest yes. Not bought Kin or JLewis stuff but seen them instore (my nearest JL stores are miles away), JL etc seem to be spot on, nice designs, wearable, quirky with touch of classic, not overpriced. Cmon M&S and JL also work with Savannnah Miller etc and do wearable not like the tat designed by Twiggy that she'd never wear!

[quirkychick]

We have a massive m&s near us and it just seems such a muddle. I went in recently as I had a gift voucher, so looked in the sale for jumpers. At least the knitwear was all together in the sale rather than all these confusing collections. Nothing was on the right size hanger when I took a selection to try on, which turned out to be a size 8, 10 and 14. The 8 I would never have normally picked up, but was a nice, loose fit (I am usually 10/12) and the 14 was very fitted! With such weird sizings alone, no wonder they were all in the sale.

The idea of reworking vintage styles sounds good in principle, but tbh, I would probably just go and buy vintage clothes. Good quality basics sounds fab, m&s used to be known for quality and consistency of size and fit.

[Woodhill]

I liked the camisole but it wasn't on the website

[SirChenjin]

Who is the reworked vintage aimed at though? I don't want to wear stuff that I used to wear when I was 16, and my DD of the same age doesn't want to be seen in M&S

[VenusRising]

The clothes are about as relavent to my life as the vacuous underemployed Alexa is...

I think they got some cheap yellow material and couldn't afford to get anything else.

Alexa Chung!! Hah ha ha.
She has sticks for legs and arms, and no hips or tits, and thinks flat loafers without socks and peter pan collars are cute!
Her "unique" style is just that...... So, so unlike anyone else.

Oh Marks and Spencer, why don't you actually listen to your customers....
I'll be sad to see it go belly up though. Nice food hall.

[Floisme]

I quite like Alexa Chung and I don't think there's any need for personal comments about her appearance. I just think she's an odd choice to front an M&S campaign and I'm curious to know whether this is just a random, slightly desperate PR job or part of a bigger plan.

Guess we will find out.

[IWannaHoldYourHand]

SirChenjin, 20 something's who don't remember Diana. Who don't want to dress like either 16 year olds, or their mum's. The same people that watched Chung on pop world nd T4, and remember when Alex and Alexa were a thing.

[Wolpertinger]

Did 20 somethings really watch Popworld? I remember watching Popworld when I was at university and I'm 40

[IWannaHoldYourHand]

I watched pop world. It was on about a decade ago, I think. Surely teens were watching a Sunday morning show?

[Wolpertinger]

Really - clearly it ran for a loooooong time!

[SirChenjin]

So a really narrow demographic then - 20 somethings? The ones who (in the main) are paying off uni debt, struggling to get onto the property ladder and starting off at the bottom of the career ladder? Yeah, that's going to raise the profits of M&S massively

[Floisme]

But it's still a generation of women who grew up with Alexa Chung, who still like her and who are now looking for somewhere different to buy their clothes.

Think of all the threads on here from early 30s women who say they don't know where to shop any more. I know we sometimes laugh because we can't see their problem but to them, it's a real one.

If that really is what M&S are doing, it's a very bold move. As you say, sir it's not a demographic with masses of cash. It could backfire big time.

[mamacasshadahairyass]

Alexa Chung? Isnt she the one that always looks like she's wearing the results of a trolley dash around a charity shop?

[Floisme]

Also been thinking: Belinda Earl did a similar thing at Jaegar. They were on their uppers when she took over but she went after a younger market: 40-50 year olds who wanted to look modern without compromising quality (a bit like me only with far more disposable cash).

It ruffled a lot of feathers but I believe it was very successful although I don't know how they've done since she left.

So she has form; she's not afraid to kick arse and she strikes me as someone who knows what she's doing. I wouldn't write her off just yet.

[IWannaHoldYourHand]

Sir, that's quite a sweeping statement. And £50 for a dress is hardly bank busting, especially considering it won't fall apart after a wear.

It amazes me that plenty of shops branch out into an older demographic and nobody bats an eyelid. My mum wears topshop and h&m, and it's fine, fashion is for all. M&s hires a 32 year old to curate a line, and it's all doom and gloom and the end of the shop.

[Floisme]

plenty of shops branch out into an older demographic
The problem is, they normally get it horribly wrong

[SirChenjin]

Not a sweeping statement at all if you look at the figures. A £50 dress in H&M would cost you half that and it wouldn't come with the uncool M&S label. I wish them well, I really do, but I'm not convinced they have got it right with this one. Who knows though!