Kneelength with a split, two pockets and white stitching, Marks & Spencer’s suede skirt has already been named item of the season – despite not being out in the shops yet, and a £199 price tag. It’s the focus of such feverish excitement that the store has produced a faux suede copycat version of its own design, which has sold out online. The real thing hits stores on 10 April, and it looks to be one of those hit-the-refresh-button type mornings. Not since the famed pink coat of 2013 has the high-street store had such a fashion insider hit on its hands.
This time, it’s in on the hype-building. Marks & Spencer have targeted crucial celebrities – Alexa Chung, Olivia Palermo – and they have duly been photographed wearing the skirt. It’s also part of a collection that has managed to get the 1970s-mum vibe of the season right on the money. The hints of the Gucci and Prada collections will be appreciated by style insiders. Other pieces of the collection are just as knowing – see a sweater with ties up the side, cute cropped jackets and poppy floral prints that look as if they’ve been transported from a 1972 sun lounger. This season, FYI, that is a very good thing.
Suede, too, is having a bit of a moment. See that Gucci show, and also an £800 Isabel Marant suede jacket that is at the top of fashion editors’ wishlists. If you can’t get your hands on the M&S skirt this season, a cropped suede jacket might satisfy that need to replicate a 70s down-the-pub look. There’s just the thing at Mango, yours for only £60. But, hurry, you never know when that too might gain it-item status.
