This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
Everyone in fashion has had to think outside the box in order to make sales. I understand Gucci are revealing their latest collection in a celebrity-filled drama for TV. Meanwhile closer to home, Marks and Spencer has collaborated with two designers, Ghost London and Nobody’s Child. They have both produced limited collections for the M&S brand. Is this the way forward for the national treasure of our high street? I don’t know but I hope so. However I think it shows they are accepting that they need to change course. Mini collections with known designers could work well so long as they remember who their core customer is – the woman over 40.
I sent my 29 year old daughter to the website to look at the Ghost collection and she has ordered the Ditsy Floral V-neck mini tea dress. She would never have considered M&S if I hadn’t forwarded the link to the webpage. So they need to keep trying to engage that age group without forgetting us!
NOBODY’S CHILD @ M&S
The Nobody’s Child tops are selling fast as the one I am wearing has already sold out but there are plenty more. I love this blouse as it is perfect for #wfh Zoom calls. Nobody would know that I am wearing jeans – albeit M&S jeans!
Here are some more that also fit the bill. Click HERE for the M&S / Nobody’s Child page for more tops.
I snapped up one of the last pale grey hoodies in recycled polyester – £39 though it is still available in camel. Click HERE.
There is some other excellent loungewear that is perfect for the lockdown look that we are now totally embracing and making our own. Everything is under £40.
Naturally there are lots of dresses from Nobody’s Child – 53 in total. All of these are ultra feminine and many could be just put away until the sun shines if you are thinking they are too summery. However there are some lovely ones with long sleeves which would work very well if we are allowed to socialise this winter!
Everything that I looked at was well made. The only negative is that, in order to keep prices down, everything is made from either viscose, acrylic, polyester or a combination of these. The upside is that they all machine wash and they are excellent value for money.
M&S x GHOST LONDON
As I write this the M&S x Ghost London range has launched on the website. Again it is an online exclusive but maybe it will be in store if they are allowed to open again. The Duchess of Cambridge is a big fan of Ghost and was seen wearing one of their dresses on a ‘Clap for Carers’ evening. Her dress cost £129 however you can now buy something similar for about half the price.
Designed exclusively for M&S, each dress showcases what Ghost does best: beautiful vintage-inspired prints (think florals and stars) and fabulously flattering, super-wearable styles that will be wardrobe favourites for years to come. This is a limited collection of 10 dresses ranging from £59 – £79.
Each dress comes in high-quality viscose and is finished using Ghost’s “unique garment dye process, for a luxe silk-like finish.” If you love dresses then you won’t be able to resist these.
If these two ranges are a success maybe more collaborations will be in the pipeline and M&S will engage with new customers.