Fashion in Context: M&S

THE MARKS & SPENCER MAGAZINE

MARKS and SPENCER

Figure 1 “The Impact of Marks and Spencer on the clothing choices of ordinary people during the 20th century”

BY CAITLIN ANDERSON

CONTENTS PAGE

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION......................................................................... PAGE 1 METHADOLOGY....................................................................................PAGE 2 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................ ............................PAGE 3-4 2.1: BRINGING SOMETHING NEW TO THE HIGHSTREET 2.11: DIRECT DEALING.........................................................................................................PAGE 5-6 2.12: READY-TO-WEAR..........................................................................................................PAGE 7-10 2.2: A NEW WORLD: SYNTHETICS.......................................................................................PAGE 11-12 2.3: BRIDGING THE GAP 2.31: QUALITY AT AFFORDABLE PRICES.................................................................................PAGE 13 2.32: BRAND IMAGE.....................................................................................................................PAGE 14 CHAPTER 3: ANALYSIS 3.1: THE ISSUE OF DESIGN ORIGINALITY...............................................................PAGE 15-16 3.2: MARKS & SPENCER: NO LONGER FOR THE ORDINARY PERSON......PAGE 17-18 CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION..........................................................................PAGE 19-20 REFERENCE LIST...................................................................................PAGE 21 FIGURE LIST............................................................... PAGE 22-23 Figure 2

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1 Introduction Marks & Spencer had a big impact on the clothing choices of ordinary people, they introduced affordable, convenient, ready-to-wear fashion. They were the first department store on the high street offering a wide range not only for women and men but children also; the “understanding of quality and value for money” (Chislett, 2009. p17) is what drove the Marks & Spencer name. The 20th century saw fashion go from being exclusive to the rich to being completely inclusive. Referring to words from the Chairman Marcus Sieff from 1988, the growth of the company “reflected the increase in demand for clothes (…) fewer women wanted to make their own clothes at home” (Chorley, 2016). Marks & Spencer changed the expectation of the ordinary customer influencing shopping habits, the clothes worn and the quality expected from them (Chislett, 2009).

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Methodology The literature has been sourced from work produced by experts and academics through resources including books, lectures, exhibitions and journals. The resources will be explored and critically reviewed, ‘Marks in Time: 125 years of Marks & Spencer’ by Chislett and ‘Fashion for the people’ by Worth are two literatures that have been referred to consistently throughout the review. They provided in depth knowledge of Marks & Spencer with relevant topics for the chosen essay title. General 20th century books such as History of 20th century fashion by Ewing and Fifty years of Fashion by Steele were used to provide the essay with knowledge not only from the point of view of M&S but from a general one also, this was useful when it came to topics such as the ‘New Look’.

The Marks and Spencer archive has been a primary resource for collecting research physically and taking images of real Marks & Spencer products, it was a useful resource for receiving knowledge first hand from Marks & Spencer experts. The Yorkshire Fashion Archive exhibition ‘The Synthetics Revolution’ acted as another primary resource where photographs relating specifically to synthetics were taken aiding part 2.2 (A new world: Synthetics) of this review.

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CHAPTER

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Literature review: The literature review analyses the impact of marks and spencer on the clothing choices of ordinary people looking specifically at how they changed the high street and consumer expectations.

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2.1: BRINGING SOMETHING NEW TO THE HIGH STREET 2.11 Direct Dealing Good quality fashionable products at affordable prices are what Marks & Spencer is known for, as stated by the literature, Marks & Spencer in time “Simon’s goals was to simplify the pricing stricture” (Chislett, 2009. p22). To do this he created a “new and dynamic relationship” (Chislett, 2009. p22) with manufactures, Marks & spencer made mass production orders and in return received low prices and the involvement in the manufacturing process that they needed. Through direct dealing they were able to have influence

on all aspects including the quality and eventually the design; they were no longer limited to what the “wholesaler might have available” (Chislett, 2009. p22) and were not just being presented with goods, which they had no input into. According to Toms (2016) this is what made M&S “one of Britain’s most successful companies”. The focus became purely on the requirements of the customer, Marks & spencer had its “own team of designers working closely with the supplier to design or redesign”(TSE, 1985. P31) products.

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This change is what finally made it possible for Simon’s to for fill his vision of “high-quality clothing at affordable prices” and bring it to the masses.

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STANDARDIZING CLOTHING SIZES When Marks & Spencer decided to concentrate on clothing, standardizing clothing sizes was one of the biggest challenges. Taken from the literature Marks in Time (2009) “badly fitting clothes had given ready-towear rages a reputation for poor quality” this is also referred to by Worth (2007), clothes in the 20th century needed to fit well, this was only achievable through dress makers, “the ability to afford a dress maker (…) helped to confirm class and status” (Worth, 2007. p25). At M&S they wanted to change the perception on ready-to-wear clothing. Throughout the 19th century the sizing changed, in 1988 a survey was conducted that showed results of the average British women being 5ft 4inch tall, the results also showed people filling out on the waist and bust (Chislett, 2009. p68). In the 19th century American sizing methods were used as they were “reliable and sophisticated” (Chislett, 2009. p68), the mannequins used by M&S came in a size 10 and 12 and reflected real body shapes. The fit of M&S clothes created a new customer expectation.

2.12 Ready-to-wear DESIGNING From direct dealing this enabled developments of ready to wear clothing, Marks & Spencer designers were working closely with suppliers and therefore they were able to create complete clothing ranges “giving guidance to the suppliers” (Chorley, 2016.).

M&S was at the forefront of interpreting fashion trends and making them accessible on the high street, with both in-house design and a design team working for suppliers they were able to produce excellent designs (Chislett, 2009. p62). Developments in print technology allowed Marks & Spencer to offer prints on their clothes (Chorley, 2016); they had their own range of fabrics. Chislett (2009) notes that Kathleen Guthrie produced work for M&S, creating a portfolio of fabrics. During the war clothes were simple and plain, Chorley (2016) mentions that advances in print and colour technology allowed M&S designers to make clothes that were within the ‘strict standards’ a long with making them as attractive as possible; M&S brightened up wartime utility clothing giving the ordinary person the choice to wear attractive clothing without using to many coupons.

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STANDARDIZATION OF COLOUR The 19th century also saw standardization of colour; this occurred at the end of the 1950s. This development meant that the same product could be bought from different places (Chislett, 2009. p60). As referred to by Chorley (2016), Ismar Glasman a colour technician for M&S states, “colour is the most important factor in promoting sales”. A huge break through noted by Chislett (2009) came from Instrumental Colour Systems and M&S, it was a program, which made it possible to colour match. This enables Marks and Spencer to sell men’s suits separate meaning that they could provide different sizing options for top and bottom; the consumer no longer needed to spend money on costly alterations (Chislett, 2009. p60). With the developed standardization of colour and sizing, the customer came to trust the quality of M&S clothes. However, they now had an expectation not only at M&S but throughout the entire high street for ready-to-wear clothes to have a good fit and be good quality; the bad reputation that ready-to-wear clothes once had was removed and the clothing choices of the ordinary person changed.

PRODUCT RANGE Chislett (2009) positions Marks & Spencer as a family store, “where a wife and mother could go to fulfill all her family’s needs” (Chislett, 2009.

P88). M&S had products ranging from blouses & tailored shirts to pyjamas (Briggs, 1984. p 54).

They provided not only the clothes you would expect to find forchildren but school-wear also, making it a one-stop store. The Children’s wear was designed to be robust, washable, durable and comfortable; making it specifically for the consumer. M&S provided inexpensive working clothes for both men and women; companies known for their cheap fashion according to Chislett (2009) were advertising the same products for 3 times more than highest price at Marks & Spencer. The way the consumer shopped changed, M&S provided them with everything they needed under one roof including products for the home, which had not been available before.

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2.2: A NEW WORLD: SYNTHETICS

In 1939 the Second World War began and brought with it rationing on clothing, coupons were introduced based on the amount of fabric that was needed to manufacture different clothing (Chislett, 2009. p84) Marks & Spencer had its own textile laborites before the war broke out, Chislett (2009) refers to M&S as becoming famous for its innovations. Briggs (1984) described Marks and Specer as being enthusiastic about all of the different opportunities with fabrics; M&S described the mix of Teryne and Wool as the “wonder fabric of the future” (Briggs, 1974. p55). With women working they no longer had the time they once did to wash and iron clothes, low maintenance clothing was becoming a demand. With this in mind M&S developed Marspun, it was exclusive to Marks & Spencer being used for “3000 different dresses by the mid 1950s” (Chislett, 2009. p58). In the late 1950s, nylon goods were being sold. From here, polyester was introduced to customers as a ‘crease resistant’ fabric, revolutionizing clothes and making them low maintenance. Chislett refers to Simon’s marketing the synthetics as “easing the housewife’s daily burden” (Chislett, 2009. p58) drawing the customer in and changing the clothing choices that they make. Along with producing crease free garments they came up with ‘Easycare innovations’, an example of this can be seen in the 1950s, as stated by Chislett (2009) M&S added a resin finish to cotton used in dresses which enabled the fabric to drip dry. Everyone wants convenience; as referred to by Worth (2007), M&S distinguished itself from competitors and grasped the opportunity to be the brand ‘changing all our ways of living’.

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2.3: BRIDGING THE GAP 2.11 Quality at affordable prices According to Peter F Drucker Marks and Spencer was not a business based on retail but on social revolution (Drucker, 1993. p3). In the mid-twenties Marks and Spencer saw a gap in the market and “redefined its business as the subversion of the class structure of the nineteenth century” (TSE, 1985. p53). They produced goods that were better than By the 1950s M&S not only appealed to the working upper class quality products for the lower-mid- class but also to those who had a higher income, peodle classes; the prices were more than affordable. ple from all statuses were shopping at M&S; Worth (2007) suggests that this made it much harder to establish someone’s status and occupation. M&S brought about a society not defined by social status; along with release of synthetic fabrics they associated it with the philosophy of ‘Classless’ (Worth, 2007. p122) as synthetic clothes were a product wanted and worn by everyone regardless of social class. Taking from literature by Ewing, M&S did a “good job at the launching of couture-influenced fashion at mass-market pricing” (Ewing, 1974). With the arrival of Christian Diors ‘New Look’, it outdated everything in the average women’s wardrobe. Steele (1997) argues that the New Look was “everything everybody had been denied”(Steele 1997. p15) during the war period, as stated by Chisslett (2009); it would have been a mistake for Marks & Spencer to ignore the obsession with the look. M&S took the ‘New Look’ of 1956 and produced a “full cotton skirt worn with a twinset and coloured nylon gloves” and brought it to the masses. Furthermore Chisslett (2009) notes that customers appreciated the opportunities that M&S provided them with to get a “taste of luxury” (Chisslett, 2009. p92). This echo’s the M&S belief that everyone should be able to be fashionable; not just the elite allowing the ordinary Figure 15 customer to purchase a range of high fashion trends.

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2.11 Brand Image

“The synthrics revolution” exhibition: Yorkshire Fashion Archive

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In 1986, M&S confirmed an “8 page promotion in the September issue of Vogue” (Chisslett, 2009. p92).

They also started using high profile models such as Twiggy in the 1960s to try and appeal to the younger market and gain credibility for the brand. This showed the new direction that high street brand were going in (Worth, 2007. p101), they used super models to help sell products and create a brand image. Men’s wear was not neglected in this step towards using supermodels; according to Worth (2007) the M&S fashion shoot by Aldo Rossi featured Eric Osland, a Valentino model.

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As observed by Worth (2007), the M&S consumer now wanted to look as if they were wearing much more expensive clothes than they actually were, women who “aspired to look like Linda Evangelista could now dress like her” (Worth 2007. p101). The lives lead and fashion choices made by men and especially women changed dramatically in the second half of the 20th century with it no longer being about convenience but about image; the clothing choices made reflected, this with M&S driving the ambition.

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3.1: THE ISSUE OF DESIGN ORIGINALITY

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Marks & Spencer was producing ‘copies’ of high-end fashion trends, providing the ordinary person with the opportunity to be fashionable. The issue arose that M&S was plagiarizing. The literature Fashion for The People refers to an accusation made by Liza bruce, who claimed that M&S copied her designs.

This naturally damaged the M&S brand image with Worth (2007) bringing to light the shock “even the most loyal” M&S customers received. However, according to Chislett (2009) some designers did not regard their work being copied by the high street as a threat but as “greater prestige and exposure” (p87).

This is supported further by Worth (2009) who informs to the reader that Gabrielle Chanel belives “fashion does not exist until it goes down into the streets” (p90) and is only happy when designs are being plagiarized. The ordinary customer naturally wanted to aspire to wear clothes that were worn by the rich and famous, M&S was producing this for them. Regardless of M&S and other brands copying designs, the opportunity to be able to afford the trend changed the clothing choices of the ordinary person.

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3.2: MARKS & SPENCER: NO LONGER FOR THE ORDINARY PERSON Marks & Spencer started to create luxury products, using supermodels to increase their ability to sell the products. Chisslett (2009) claims that M&S had no intentions of “abandoning its Traditional customer” (p92) they wanted to remain loyal and aimed to provide them with a ‘taste of luxury’ at an affordable price point. However, in the literature ‘Fashion for the People’ this is challenged with references being made to accusations by fashion writer Tamsin Blanchard, which were published in the Independent. She observed that if a super model such as Linda Evangelista was used, M&S could make “a 30 pound pair of trousers look like a 300 pound pair”

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(worth, 2007. p101); claiming that is why they hired her. This accusation challenges the entire concept that M&S is a company providing clothes for the working class, showing that later into their retail career they aimed at a new target market not necessarily considering the ordinary person. The literature Marks in Time remains consistent with the fact that M&S are a company making fashion available for everyone “no matter how limited their income” (Chisslett, 2009. p92); M&S bridged the world between high end and high street.

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CONCLUSION

• Simon’s had a goal to make ready to wear clothes available for the masses, to get the low prices M&S eliminated the middle man and did direct dealing with manufactures to get the lowest prices possible.

• The expectations consumers had for ready-to-wear clothes changed with technology advances made by Marks & Spencer and their design team now working with suppliers to produce the products that they wanted.

• The expectations that the consumer had on the fit and quality of clothes increased across the entire high street not just at M&S. • Marks & Spencer was a one stop shop for the consumer to get everything that they needed for the whole family • The introduction of synthetic clothing completely changed the clothing choices of ordinary people by providing them with the option for ‘care free’ clothing during a period when women did not have as much time to devote to taking care of the family household.

• M&S closed the social gap in society by making quality luxury clothes at affordable prices.

• In the second half of the 20th century the lives and fashion aspiration of women and men changed dramatically, M&S drove this change with the use of super models to promote lines.

• Overall, Marks & Spencer changed the retail expectation of the ordinary customer influencing shopping habits, the clothes wore and the quality expected from them.

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Reference list:

Figure list:

Exhibitions: Marks & Spencer Archive, N.D. Advertising & Branding. [Exhibition] Accessed: 11/12/16.

Figure 1: Marks & Spencer Archive, N.D. Front cover page. [Internet] Accessed: 12/12/16. Available from: http://gender-archives.leeds.ac.uk/929/

Yorkshire Fashion Archive, 2016. The Synthetics Revolution. [Exhibition] Accessed: 10/11/16.

Figure 2: Urban, M. 2014. Outside of new M&S shop. [Internet] Accessed: 12/12/16. Available from: http:// www.brixtonbuzz.com/2014/04/marks-and-spencer-original-penny-bazaar-in-brixton/

Lectures: Chorley, K. 2016. M&S The social history of fashion. DESN2658. 20th Century Fashion. 12/11/16, Leeds University.

Journals: Toms, S. 2016. Page 7. Marks & Spencer and the decline of British textile industry, 2950-2000. [Journal Article] Accessed: 12/6/16 Books: Briggs, A. 1984. Marks & Spencer 1884-1984. [Internet] Accessed: 12/11/16. Published: Octopus Book Limited: London.

Chislett, H. 2009. Marks & Spencer in time. [Book] Accessed:12/6/16. Published: Weidenfeld & Nicolson: United Kingdom Drucker, P. 1993. Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices. [Book] Accessed: 12/10/16. Published: HarperBusiness: London.

Ewing, E/ 1974. History of 20th Century Fashion. [Book] Accessed: 12/11/16. Published: Batsford Ltd: London.

Steele, V. 1997. Fifty years of fashion. [Book] Accessed: 12/11/16. Published: Yale University: USA.

Figure 3: Marks & Spencer company archive, N.D. Company banner. [Internet] Accessed: 12/14/16. Available from: https://marksintime.marksandspencer.com/whats-on/your-ms-in-leeds-heritage-trail Figure 4: Pinterest, 2014. Outside of M&S. [Internet] Accessed: 12/14/16. Available from: https://uk.pinterest. com/pin/557953841306590994/ Figure 5: Marks & Spencer Archive, N.D. M&S workshop. [Lecture] DESN2658. 20th Century Fashion. Accessed: 12/13/16 . Leeds University.

Figure 6: Marks & Spencer Archive, N.D. Jumper design. [Lecture] DESN2658. 20th Century Fashion. Accessed: 12/13/16 . Leeds University.

Figure 7: Marks & Spencer Archive, N.D. M&S designer. [Lecture] DESN2658. 20th Century Fashion. Accessed: 12/13/16 . Leeds University.

Figure 8: Marks & Spencer Archive, N.D. Two women in dresses. [Lecture] DESN2658. 20th Century Fashion. Accessed: 12/13/16 . Leeds University.

Figure 9: Marks & Spencer archive, ND. Two women at the beach. [Internet] Accessed: 12/13/16. Available from: http://gender-archives.leeds.ac.uk/advertisement-1950s-new-look-dress/

Tachen, 2005. Fashion from the 18th to the 20th century. [Internet] Accessed: 12/11/16. Published: Taschen: Los Angeles.

Figure 10: RBKC libraries, 2015. Magazine of family clothes. [Internet] Accessed: 12/13/16. Available from: https://rbkclibraries.wordpress.com/2015/08/07/fashion-for-the-people-a-history-of-clothing-at-marksspencer/

TSE, K. 1985. Marks and Spencer: Anatomy of Britain’s most efficiently managed company. [Book] Accessed: 12/10/16. Published: Pergamon Press: Oxford, England.

Figure 11: Marks & Spencer Archive, N.D. For the modern man. [Lecture] DESN2658. 20th Century Fashion.

Accessed: 12/13/16 . Leeds University.

Worth, R. 2007. Fashion for the people. [Book] Accessed: 12/6/16. Published: Berg Editorial offices: Oxford, UK.

Figure 12: Marks & Spencer Archive, N.D. Two men blue shirts. [Lecture] DESN2658. 20th Century Fashion.

Accessed: 12/13/16 . Leeds University.

Figure 13: Modstylist, N.D. Cotton advertisement. [Internet] Accessed: 12/13/16. Available from: https:// modstylist.com/2015/03/04/1950s-inspired-fashion/ Figure 14: Marks & Spencer archive, ND. Nylon fabrics advertisement. [Internet] Accessed: 12/13/16. Available from: http://gender-archives.leeds.ac.uk/advertisement-1950s-new-look-dress/ Figure 15: Marks & Spencer Archive, N.D. Two women jumping. [Lecture] DESN2658. 20th Century Fashion. Accessed: 12/13/16 . Leeds University.

Figure 16 & 17: Anderson, C. 2016. The synthetics revolution exhibition. [My own images] Figure 18: Pinterest, N.D. Dior new look two women. [Internet] Accessed: 12/13/16. Available from: https:// uk.pinterest.com/chuninae0148/dior/

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Figure 19: Vam, 2014. Women in dress next to lake. [Internet] Accessed: 12/14/16. Available from: http:// www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/o/one-hundred-years-of-fashion-photography/ Figure 20: Bocadolobo, 2014. Model posing in stylish dress. [Internet] Accessed: 12/14/16. Available from: http://bocadolobo.com/blog/fashion/the-most-iconic-fashion-photographs-of-the-20th-century/ Figure 21: Top-fashion-models, N.D. Linda Evangelista. [Internet] Accessed: 12/14/16. Available from: http:// www.top-fashion-models.info/supermodels/linda-evangelista.html Figure 22: Pinterest, N.D. Twiggy. [Internet] Accessed: 12/14/16. Available from: https://uk.pinterest.com/ pin/122371314846898722/ Figure 23 & 34: Anderson, C. 2016. Marks & Spencer Archive. [My own image] Figure 25: : Marks & Spencer Archive, N.D. St Michael logo. [Lecture] DESN2658. 20th Century Fashion.

Accessed: 12/13/16 . Leeds University.

Figure 26: : Marks & Spencer Archive, N.D. 3 women posing next to bike [Lecture] DESN2658. 20th Century Fashion. Accessed: 12/13/16 . Leeds University.

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