WITH THE announcement that they are to open a store on the Champs Elysees in Paris and to double online sales to £1 billion by 2013, Marks & Spencer today unveil their spring-summer collection for 2012 in London in a blaze of colour and confidence.
A sneak preview yesterday by The Irish Timesrevealed a mixture of themes in which bright colours and pattern predominated. "We are making a big statement about prints this season," confirmed Neil Hendy, head of womenswear.
The aesthetic shift away from black showed in the variety of breezy scarf and photographic prints to art deco geometrics and tribal motifs. There’s a move away from dresses into separates with sleek styling tempering the effect of so much pattern and stripes. “We’ve introduced flattering chalky colours along with pastel tones like a minty green” said Hendy. “And yellow is huge, following on the ochre shades of autumn, but it’s the kind of colour you have to get right,” he said.
A sunshine yellow cotton skirt with a magenta shirt tied 50s style over a bikini top illustrated the fresh shade combinations. An ability to mix and match diverse prints in an insouciant way has always been characteristic of British style like a pair of “tribal” print palazzos worn with a patterned vest in similar tones and lots of chunky jewellery.
The forthcoming Olympics in London prompted a focus on sporty tailoring in soft parachute silks highlighted with flashes of fluorescent colour and sportswear detailing. Elsewhere there were bold prints on feminine fabrics, busy prints on capri pants, cutwork detailing with sugar pastel accents along with high-waisted and midi-length skirts. “A global collision of eclectic style” was how clothing director Kate Bostock aptly described it.