Are you getting old or is M&S suddenly cool? The truth revealed

M&S have impressed with their latest collections (Picture: Getty/M&S/TikTok)

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Clutching a bulging M&S shopping bag, a young woman – no older than 25 – holds it up to the camera and declares she’s ‘done some damage’.

Then she asks her TikTok followers a dilemma that has been on all our minds: ‘Am I old or is M&S just so good now?’

Gen-Zer Meg Helm’s adoration for her high street haul is met with a flurry of opinions divided on whether she should be worried. It’s a question that has been frequently asked on social media over the last few months, as many of us wonder if our ageing process has suddenly picked up speed while checking out the rails of Marks & Spencer.

Thankfully, there is no need to start bulk buying hyaluronic acid just yet, as it turns out that 141-year-old M&S has done a bit of a Benjamin Button, with the British high street staple being transformed from the place your nan buys her elastic-waisted linen trousers to one of Gen Z’s favourite stockists. 

The sudden revitalisation of M&S is no coincidence, but largely the work of the very fashion-savvy Maddy Evans. She joined the women’s fashion department in 2019 after leaving her role at Topshop as head of buying, and has recently been promoted to a newly created role, director of womenswear. 

When Maddy hopped on board, M&S sales were plummeting – they’d fallen out of the FTSE 100 and then chief executive, Steve Rowe, even admitted that they had a reputation for ‘frumpiness’. 

Now it’s a different story entirely, with M&S clothing and home division sales increased 5.3% year-on-year in their most recent financial results.

Of course, Maddy didn’t do it alone — her team of clothing Avengers who joined her around the same time include head of womenswear design Lisa Illis (formerly Nike), and head of merchandising for womenswear Helen Wilson (also Topshop alumni).

From OAP to Gen Z

Maddy Evans has helped change the narrative (Picture: Louis Christopher / M&S)

Let’s be real, this isn’t a complete underdog rising through the ranks. M&S has always had a strong presence (aka ‘that girl’ in young people’s speak) since it first emerged on the high street in 1884, but recently they’ve managed to turn themselves front and centre of the fashion conversation. 

We’ve seen this happen to other legacy brands before, perhaps most famously when Stanley cups went from an item favoured almost exclusively by outdoor enthusiasts to the ultimate accessory after #WaterTok got their lips around the straws. 

While the M&S food hall was once the centre of attention (items such as their speckled egg cookies are still putting up a great argument for our cash), now their womenswear has become equally sought-after. Many people are even making comparisons to Zara – the long-time go-to for fashion fans.

Just last month, a £65 cropped utility jacket had the girlies arriving at stores for opening time with nothing but a restock dream and their Monzo cards. One friend recently disclosed to me that she was crowded around the item at 8am on a weekday with two other keen women. In a true moment of sisterhood, they all tried on the last three jackets before walking to the cash register together. 

Fashion stylist Lynne McKenna has been in the industry for two decades and has been in awe of the high street store’s recent efforts.

‘Part of my job is pulling pieces for photo shoots, and I would often go to M&S for the wardrobe staples or their big moments like Alexa Chung’s collection in 2016, but now when I visit, everything is incredible,’ she tells Metro. 

Lynne believes the start of this exciting chapter in their journey began with the Sienna Miller collection in September 2023. The ultimate cool girl’s 33-piece clothing line instantly captured shoppers’ attention, with many items selling out quickly. Her barrel leg jeans were particularly sought-after and restocked three times.

This must-have factor has gradually spilt into every section from denim to tailoring and eveningwear. And the numbers speak for themselves – women’s partywear sales are up 49%, and knitwear has risen by 23%. 

‘I could fill trolleys,’ Lynne adds excitedly, as she chats about the stores’ current ranges. 

Lynne could fill trollies (Picture: M&S)

She puts their success down to their ability to have a little something for everyone. In the most simplistic terms, M&S are creating garments that a lot of people want to wear. ‘They’re very clever at designing things that are multipurpose for multi-generations. I could wear it, my mum could wear it, and my friend’s teenage daughter could wear it. 

‘For instance, they are selling a pair of wide-leg trousers with a stripe down for £35. The younger people wear it with a really cool crop jacket, I may do it with a baggy roll neck jumper, and then the older generation could choose a crisp white shirt.

‘It’s because the store started looking at not only who’s wearing their clothes, but who they want to wear them as well. Plus, the quality is high-end, but prices are still achievable for many.’

Spreading the word

Anna Corkill and Yaz Moore have supported M&S on their social media accounts (Picture: TikTok)

Lynne says that engaging in the social media world and collaborating with different ages has also been vital to their success. IT girls of the digital realm, such as Sarah Louise Blythe, Naomi Ross, and AJ Odudu, have all been plastered over M&S’s Instagram. Meanwhile, social media management platform Social Sprout shared with Metro that in a recent 30-day period, there were 3.76 billion impressions on M&S’s social media and an average of 3,284 engagements each day. That’s without even taking into consideration the thousands of fan videos. 

Previously, shopping in M&S may have been something you whispered about, but now women are holding mini mics to spread the word online. One of the young fans doing just that is Anna Corkill, 24 – she is part of a group of TikTokers giving the high street store free marketing by sharing hauls.

‘M&S is a trending topic for my generation, with people making it a prime stop for new outfits which I haven’t seen before. My videos that feature them usually get high engagement,’ she explains.

Anna has deciphered that it’s not just the clothes contributing to the influx of young shoppers. Giving individual branches their own social media accounts to create localised content has made them fun and aspirational. Who doesn’t want to see the Romford branch staff lip sync to DJ Khaled ft Rihanna’s Wild Thoughts interwoven with shots of a Percy Pig cuddly teddy?

TIKTOK

‘The shop has always been an icon in British society — I got my first ever bra from there — but there was also this idea that it was mainly a brand for my stylish nan but not for me,’ adds Anna. ‘However, I have now noticed their product offering has developed to be more trend-led, which has drawn a younger crowd.’ 

Now focused on ‘creating greater visibility, improving replenishment, and reducing excess stock commitment and storage’, M&S can keep up with trends after it ditched a slower supply chain under Maddy’s reign. Part of this plan includes investing in new warehouse capacity to ‘improve availability and speed up delivery and returns’.

Influencer Yaz Moore, 25, has also noticed the effect of these changes and says that it is incredibly important, as her peers enjoy following trends. ‘Our fashion choices reflect cultural relevance, and a strong digital influence – TikTok trends, influencer hauls, and what celebrities are wearing.

Currently, we’re drawn to the minimalist clean girl aesthetic, quiet luxury, and love a good athleisure moment,’ she says, pointing out that M&S now ticks those boxes. 

‘Seeing influencers styling their pieces in a modern way helped change the perception,’ she adds. ‘One viral video can push a brand into the spotlight and have it sell out overnight. I went to my local M&S for a trench coat I’d seen in videos, and it was gone off the shelves. The response to my own videos has been insane.’

The future of M&S

Having a front-row seat to the fashion industry, Lynne is excited about what the recent activity at the store could mean, especially after a hard few years.

‘A lot of brands were playing it quite safe and going for simplicity as lockdown affected our tastes. Everyone just went off fashion for a bit, and it has taken a long time to recover, longer than we thought,’ she explains. 

‘But now, when I walk down the high street, I see exciting stuff from other places too like Abercrombie and River Island. They’ve all got a burst of fashion excitement.

‘It’s encouraging some nice, healthy competition and they’re all making each other better. Fashion is definitely back – and it seems like M&S are leading it.’ 

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