High Street 2.0: M&S, Asos and Topshop Bet on Luxury Playbook

By Daniel Okafor

Marks & Spencer says the number of under-35s shopping at the retailer rose 16% year on year after it pushed more fashion-led seasonal collections. That figure sits at the centre of a broader story: noughties-era high street brands are staging a comeback, and they are doing it with the luxury fashion playbook.

The old model — trend-led, affordable designs — no longer carries these names. The new one mixes A-list collaborations, celebrity-fronted catwalk moments and upgraded digital services.

Which brands are making the move?

The examples stack up quickly:

• Gap launched a new collection with Victoria Beckham.
• M&S showed a catwalk collection at London fashion week, with Joan Collins and assorted gen Z Gallaghers in attendance, and made it shoppable immediately. Half the pieces cost under £50.
• Topshop relaunched last year and now runs concessions in 30 John Lewis stores, plus one in Liberty.
• Asos appointed Law Roach, the Hollywood stylist whose clients include Zendaya, as stylist-in-residence. His influence shows in ad campaigns and in his suggestions for combining items across the site.

Lisa Illis, head of design at M&S, described the catwalk show as "making the buzz of London fashion week accessible to everyone". She said "more fashion-informed seasonal collections" drove the 16% rise in younger shoppers.

Why is service now part of the product?

Asos rebuilt its shopping experience around one problem: buyers do not know how to put clothes together. "In research, we found that 68% of consumers say what they need to know is how to wear something," said Vanessa Spence, the retailer's executive vice-president of brand.

The company added AI stylists, virtual try-on tools and a Buy the Look option, which lets consumers buy a full outfit in one transaction. Spence called the feature very popular. "We're helping customers find pieces that they want to wear. Then they can get more from every purchase and extend the life of their product," she said.

Ella Baynes, insight manager at retail consultants Savvy Marketing, reads the strategy as cultural borrowing rather than direct competition. "Instead of competing directly, [these retailers] are borrowing some of luxury fashion's cultural cues," she said. "You're meeting both that shopper aspiration, but also the shopper reality [with the price]."

What does the adaptive range tell us?

Asos also expanded an adaptive collection for disabled customers, built with the consultancy Tilting the Lens. Nothing in the range costs more than £65 — a pricing choice that matters because 46% of disabled people in the UK are not in work.

Sinéad Burke, Tilting the Lens founder and disability advocate, who has achondroplasia, the most common form of restricted growth, said the range works as a system, not a token garment. "There is an ability to develop, even for yourself, a capsule collection," she said. "It's not just one suit, it's not just one skirt, you can customise the pieces. You can wear the magnetic waistcoat with the pants. We hope what we're giving people is greater choice."

"Whenever we're looking at shopper attitude, cost is absolutely king," Bayns confirmed.

Did the overhaul fix Asos's numbers?

Only partly, and only recently. Asos suffered a sharp post-Covid sales decline and new pressure from ultra-cheap rivals like Shein. Sales were down 12% last August. A cost-cutting drive, including charging for returns, helped the site turn a corner, and the company announced 50% profit growth this March. The impact of a cyber-attack at the beginning of October remains unclear.

Has sustainability left the conversation?

Fashion commentator Andrea Cheong, author of Why Don't I Have Anything to Wear?, reviews affordable brands on Instagram for build quality. She has noticed brands signposting their environmental credentials far less, citing criticism from campaigners, cost and the rise of conservatism. "It wasn't something that was very lucrative once the economy was in decline, and then bring politics into it, that has a huge impact," she said.

At M&S, which launched its eco-commitments in 2007, value and sustainability are not competing priorities, according to Illis. "By designing pieces with longevity in mind, from everyday wardrobe staples to more fashion-led seasonal collections, we're helping customers build wardrobes they'll wear and love for longer," she said.

The claim runs into hard data. One estimate puts the average number of times a garment is worn at seven before disposal.

Can high street match high fashion?

Cheong doubts it. "However much they try to elevate what it is, it is not the same [fabric] that they use at, for example, Dior," she said. The M&S catwalk collection and Asos Adaptive both use human-made fibres, one visible gap between the two tiers.

The competition also comes from resale, not just from Shein. Vinted is now the third biggest retailer in the UK, and Cheong says most of her audience shops secondhand. "I would say 70% or 80% of my audience are 25 to 35 and they are really jaded. They are a lot more savvy than brands seem to think," she said.

The lesson the high street has absorbed is blunt: consumers have grown cynical, and the old combination of low price and fast trends no longer earns their attention.