Bold and ‘brat’: Marks & Spencer bets on womenswear to revive autumn fortunes
After a cyber-attack rained on its summer, Marks & Spencer is banking on fashion to brighten its autumn.A Prada-esque, crystal-embellished, charcoal V-neck cardigan (£46), a faux leather trenchcoat with a price tag of £90 – £6,810 less than the Burberry version – and a £36 short pleated skirt that offers a wearable take on Charli xcx’s “brat” styling will hit shop floors shortly.“We can be bolder because, while we continue to dominate in the over-55s, we’ve got new customers in the 35- to 55-year-old age range,” said Maddy Evans, the brand’s womenswear lead, at a showcase of the new collection in the run-up to London fashion week, which begins on Friday.The store is relying on womenswear, which has been ticking upward in sales and credibility for two years, to lead a bounce back after a devastating cyber-attack that affected M&S from April to August and is predicted to have cost the business £300m in profits.Evans said the retailer was aiming for two-thirds newness in store.
“That basically means that if a customer walks in to see the new season, two-thirds of it she will never have seen before,The other third is core product – white T-shirts, skinny jeans, black wide-leg trousers, pieces that never go out of stock,”M&S “sense-checked” trends for wearability, Evans added,The return of the miniskirt, as widely seen on city streets this summer, is reflected at the retailer, but “never unwearably short”,“We are shifting out of the midi skirt into shorter lengths, but our customer trusts us to make a short skirt that they feel good in,” she added.
The head of womenswear design, Lisa Illis, said knowing which trends to ignore was as important as knowing which to pick up on,Waving to a rail of tonal rose, burgundy and chocolate knitwear, she said: “We avoid harder, sharper colours that are more difficult to wear, in favour of these flattering shades,”Leather – real and faux – features on coats, minidresses and skirts as well as shoes,The store had a hit at the beginning of this year, selling 20,000 pairs of £55 loafers, which offered an affordable take on the key shoe of the “quiet luxury” era,Investment in loafers has been ramped up by 40% for the coming winter.
Sign up to First EditionOur morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersafter newsletter promotionIn denim – where high-waisted styles rule – the under-£30 price point remains key, “although we’re seeing more opportunity at £45-£49, when the product is right”.To respond more nimbly to demand, the company has substantially shifted production from China, Vietnam and Cambodia to “nearshore” manufacture in Turkey, Morocco and Egypt.
France proposes ceiling on value of UK components in €150bn EU defence fund
France has proposed limiting the use of British-produced military components in the EU’s €150bn defence fund, in a move that could complicate negotiations over the UK’s entry into the scheme.Four diplomatic sources told the Guardian that French officials had proposed a 50% ceiling on the value of UK components in projects financed through the EU’s €150bn Security Action for Europe (Safe) fund.The €150bn loans scheme is part of the EU’s drive to boost defence spending by €800bn and re-arm the continent. The European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, lauded the scheme on Tuesday, telling an audience of policymakers in Brussels that the commission had assigned loans to member states in less than six months since the idea was first mooted – “the sense of urgency we need”.The door to greater UK participation was pushed open in May when Keir Starmer and von der Leyen signed an EU-UK security and defence partnership
Plan to slash US steel tariffs shelved hours before Donald Trump’s UK visit
A long-coveted deal to slash US steel and aluminium tariffs to zero has been shelved on the eve of Donald Trump’s state visit to Britain, the Guardian has learned.Ministers were poised to finalise a deal this week that would have reduced Trump’s tariffs on British steel to zero, according to government officials.But that deal has been put on ice hours before the US president’s arrival in the UK, in what steel industry figures privately described as a major blow.A government source said the deal would have secured 0% tariffs on just a small quota of British steel exports, prolonging uncertainty for the industry.Instead, ministers are seeking to agree a permanent “guarantee” that US tariffs on British steel will not go above 25%
Two British MPs ‘denied entry’ into Israel during official West Bank visit
Two British MPs travelling as part of a parliamentary delegation to the occupied West Bank have said they were denied entry into Israel.Labour politicians Simon Opher and Peter Prinsley were travelling as part of a group that was due to meet British diplomats in Jerusalem this week, in addition to Palestinian and Israeli human rights organisations.Opher’s office said in a statement on Tuesday that the purpose of the visit, organised by the Council for Arab-British Understanding, was to “enable members of parliament to witness the vital medical and humanitarian work of a range of organisations including Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) in the occupied West Bank.” It added: “It is deeply regrettable that Israeli authorities prevented them from seeing first-hand the grave challenges facing medical facilities in the region and from hearing the British government’s assessment of the situation on the ground.” Opher, the MP for Stroud and chair of the all-party parliamentary group for health, has returned to the UK from Jordan
New headache for Rachel Reeves as OBR expected to lower productivity forecast
The Office for Budget Responsibility is expected to downgrade its key productivity forecast, the Guardian understands, setting Rachel Reeves on course to break her fiscal rules without significant action in the budget.The government’s independent watchdog has carried out a “stocktake” of its forecast models over the summer, and Treasury officials privately acknowledge the result will inevitably be a weaker growth outlook.One Treasury source said they expected the OBR to “kitchen sink it” – making a significant downward revision to productivity forecasts in one go rather than taking a more piecemeal approach.Reeves will respond by pointing to the long-term weakness of productivity in the UK economy and promising to tackle it with a programme of investment.The consultancy Oxford Economics, however, estimates that moving the OBR’s productivity forecast back in line with the less optimistic independent average projection would knock 1
MPs give Foreign Office fall guy a mauling over Mandelson | John Crace
Just what has Stephen Doughty done to upset Keir Starmer? Are there no limits to the prime minister’s contempt and hatred? Not that Steve is a total nobody. He’s not a run-of-the-mill backbencher. But he has risen as high as he is likely to go as a junior minister in the Foreign Office. Probably higher than Steve ever expected. Certainly higher than his mates expected
Mandelson not given in-depth vetting before appointment, says Foreign Office
Peter Mandelson was not subject to in-depth security vetting prior to his appointment as ambassador to Washington, the government has said.The Cabinet Office conducted a due diligence process on Mandelson before he was chosen for the role but this was not a security check, the Foreign Office said in a letter to MPs.Mandelson went through the ambassadorial appointment process, including in-depth national security vetting, only after his appointment had been announced to the public.The disclosure, made by the foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, and the department’s top official, Oliver Robbins, raises further questions about the lack of rigour involved in Mandelson’s appointment to the top diplomatic post earlier this year.Cooper and Robbins were responding to a set of written questions from the foreign affairs select committee
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