Past the pasta salads (feta and sun blushed tomato, since you ask), beyond the ever familiar briefs and the novelty socks, something is happening in the world of Marks & Spencer menswear. Where once it was something of a Middle England punch line – the Blue Harbour brigade in their golf-course-ready jumpers and slip-on shoes – something more potent and exciting is afoot for the store that typifies the British consumer.
Perhaps it’s not surprising; Marks & Spencer’s women’s offering has evolved into one of the most solid that the high street has to offer and it’s paying off. This week, the retailer announced a 56 per cent leap in profits. It means that M&S has become the number-one store in women’s clothing in the UK, ahead of Next. “The beloved British retailer has got its act together at last and it’s making a difference at the tills,” wrote The Telegraph’s Head of Fashion Lisa Armstrong back in May, highlighting its excellent tailoring, joyously bright knits and well-made summer dresses, all at prices that are cost-of-living-crisis friendly. “M&S is doing a fine job of catering to the spectrum of British tastes,” she wrote. But what of the men’s collection?
Prince Charles visiting a Marks & Spencer store in Paris, 1988
Credit: Getty
I have to admit, I’m predisposed to run screaming for the fashion hills where M&S men’s offering is concerned, the connotations of my late grandfather’s cardigans and singlets not quite aligning with what I perceive of my wardrobe to be (incredibly hip and cool, you understand). I have to say, a certain snobbishness – of which I’ve been certainly guilty of in the past – prevails about M&S men’s clothing generally. There’s a perceived sense of same-same safety to it, a “don’t-frighten-the-horses” lack of identity that’s painfully impersonal. More fool me.
“I think the high street has come back fighting since the global pandemic,” says men’s fashion stylist Gareth Scourfield, who dresses actors Ben Wishaw and Colin Firth. “Men are more versed in style and fashion now. A big part of that is smart casual wear; men are a lot more canny in shopping now, understand quality fabrics, the right fit, what occasionwear to don.”
A visit to the M&S store near London’s Victoria Station, and on its website, proves my style pretentions entirely wrong. The knits, for example; Fair Isle and shawl collared, a squint-and-it-could-be-Brunello-Cucinelli aesthetic. Cotton, rather than cashmere, but at £45 you can’t expect the world. The cashmere, coincidentally, is a friendly £99 in a raft of jolly colours.
Cotton-blend Fair Isle cardigan, £45, M&S; Airflex leather trainers, £60, M&S
Good coats, too. Solid down jackets and quilted gilets, the latter very Succession, as well as easy shackets that your average Gen-Z-er could happily wear. The trainers are a happy surprise too; the category of “smart trainers” has boomed in recent years, designed to ape the formality of a dress shoe but with the casual ease of a trainer, and M&S are right on the money with the caramel leather varieties. Evening wear is something of a mastermind specialist subject for yours truly so I’m the harshest critic in this arena, but Marks & Spencer’s line-up is good, especially as we steer into festive dressing. A rose-hued velvet blazer is a highlight, likewise a double breasted black version.
Tellingly, this season M&S introduced its first standalone men’s campaign since 2015, so clearly they’re taking it seriously. It’s already trickling into sales; the menswear category is up 5 per cent on last year, and the Autograph range is up 55 per cent compared to 2022. The best sellers are the supima cotton T-shirt (81k sold this year) and its slim fit chinos (27k and counting). The focus on what’s happening on the catwalks – those glossy tuxedos and streetwear-inspired puffas – is deliberate.
“We’ve invested heavily in understanding our customer, his lifestyle and what he wants from his wardrobe,” says Mitch Hughes, M&S’s Menswear Director. “We’re pushing brand style perceptions and being more informed by trends. We have a laser-focus on targeting men aged 40-54, but everyone is welcome.”
Italian wool car coat, £199, M&S; Velvet blazer, £99, M&S
That’s not to say there isn’t room for expansion; there’s nothing “wrong” with parts of offering per se, it’s just that some of the identikit chinos and shirts could do with a little bit more personality; a print here, a more impactful colour there. Scourfield also notes that the stores are inconsistent; “badly laid out, like giant warehouse, not helping the customer. Men like ease and quick, logical thinking when shopping.”
The evolution of menswear is likely coming on the back of the success of the women’s range – a wife picking up a jumper for her husband as she stocks up on silver jeans and statement ankle boots. There will always be steadfast, solid office attire on offer at Marks & Spencer, a go-to for guys who don’t want to have to think about it and need something appropriate that they can grab on a lunch break, but for the more style conscious man who hitherto might have shopped at the more forward thinking Reiss, Zara or Uniqlo, there’s a solid array for him to choose from while he’s picking up his pants and his pasta. Perhaps even this fussy old fashion editor will be in the mix too.
