What’s going on at John Lewis & Partners?

Thank goodness – on Sunday we’ll reach the Spring equinox and then in a week’s time the clocks go forward. These are the little things that mean such a lot at the moment because they’ll make a significant difference to the lives we’re living. Today’s post is all about new season, this time with a focus on more everyday outfits that will take us from lockdown to beyond. I’m pleased to be working with one of my favourite retailers again today, looking at what’s going on at John Lewis & Partners and bringing you an update on everything that’s happening on their fashion floor.

While the newspapers have been talking about potential store closures the style teams at JL&P have been beavering away behind the scenes preparing to launch a very different new season. For a long time now we’ve been used to the stable of well known brands that they stock, both their own and third parties. Alongside Kin and Modern Rarity we know we’ll find Hush, Boden, Reiss, All Saints and lots of others, making it easy for us to play around and put outfits together from different labels. This season though JL&P  will be shaking up their fashion offering by introducing a number of independent brands and we’re about to see over 50 new fashion and beauty labels joining the JL&P flock. Some such as Baukjen are old friends; others such as Albaray and Thought may be new to a lot of to us – we’re about to have much more choice at our fingertips.

JL&P’s strategy has been to look for brands that are small and sustainable and some of the companies they’re supporting are complete start-ups. The two friends behind Ro&Zo only began working on their ideas last summer during the pandemic and Albaray, a new sustainable collection from some of the team behind Warehouse, is launching for the first time this season. And when you think about it JL&P, with its established retail set up, is in a position to offer the opportunity of a lifetime to small brands, helping them to get going and giving them access to their website which has a reach that they could never have dreamed of otherwise.

There’s a benefit for us as customers too. As so many retailers move into the marketplacing model offering a soup of the same high street brands, we’ll be able to find something different at JL&P. We’ll have confidence that we’re buying from brands that are working sustainably with ethical supply chains… and we’ll know that we’re doing our bit to support small businesses at the same time. The retail industry has been devastated over the last twelve months but as the old way of shopping collapses, it brings with it an opportunity to start something new with better values than ever before. Now’s the time to think carefully about exactly where we spend our money because every pound is going to be a vote for the retail landscape we want to see.

There are some small brands that I’m particularly excited to see coming on board. In womenswear one is Kemi Telford. As you know I love Yvonne’s skirts but I’ve always been nervous of the returns policy which states that they have to be packaged exactly as they were delivered. With her fabulous full midi skirts that isn’t easy so it’ll be great to have the the JL&P distribution arm to hand. In menswear another of my favourite brands has already arrived. Patrick Grant’s Community Clothing creates employment opportunities in run down areas of Lancashire and other counties. The collection is based around very cool, high quality but affordable pared down garments all made in the UK – let’s hope womenswear follows soon.

All of the new brands that are coming in are the next step on in JL&P’s plan to modernise their fashion offering. You’ll notice that most of the ranges are fluid as the buying teams acknowledge that the way we live, and therefore dress, has completely changed. We now need to be able to move through a day that might veer from work Zoom meetings to walking the dog and then (hopefully soon) to sitting in a wine bar with friends. The old boundaries between work and home wardrobes have completely blurred and we have different demands from our clothes – they need to give us the confidence lift that we want while still being comfortable and adaptable.

What’s going on at John Lewis & Partners – their own collection

As well as introducing more diversity with new brands, the fashion team have been continuing to develop the John Lewis & Partners own brand collection. In the comments quite a few of you often say that the one thing that’s missing is a line of simple but well designed and affordable capsule pieces. Well now that gap is being filled in. Jo Bennett, Head of Womenswear, explains the thinking behind it:

“For this season and beyond, we’ve put the emphasis on beautifully made wardrobe foundations that reflect the world we’re living in now and we’ve also re-evaluated our price points. Every item is very competitive, whether it’s versatile loungewear or an uplifting dress, and in the context of these staples working together with an existing wardrobe, it offers extremely good value.”

One of the first pieces for SS21 was the velour hoodie and joggers that I featured in January and lots of you have since raved about it, saying you’ve bought it in a range of colours:

Soft cardigan

There’s also a choice of great value macs in the JL&P capsule collection. Here I’m wearing the Easy Mac which I chose because I really like the buttermilk colour. The usual stone colours that trenches come in don’t suit my skintone so I was pleased to see this shade. It’s a simple, washable piece made with cotton from the BCI, easy to throw on like this or wear over a blazer or hoodie for extra street style. If you prefer something slightly longer the collection has another Mac that comes in five colours here.

Easy Mac; Moss cardigan; Denim shirt; Jeans

And last of all, here are their simple square toed flats – as they were samples I didn’t know whether I could shoot them outside so they’re in my usual spot on the well. They’re a simple, classic shoe made from very soft leather so I don’t imagine they’d need wearing in. They don’t come in half sizes so they’re slightly too big for me which tells me that they’re true to size.

Square toe flats

So that’s my try-on from the new John Lewis & Partners capsule and it’s great, I look forward to seeing the range expand. All of the pieces are likely to slot straight into your existing wardrobe giving you great cost per wear. In terms of both style and value it’s exactly what we’ve all been wishing JL&P would do for so long and it’s good to know that they’ve taken their time over getting it right.

What’s going on at John Lewis & Partners – new brands

A going out or staying in dress

Moving on, I also had the chance to have a play with two of the small brands that are new in. The first one I chose was Ro&Zo which strikes me as sitting somewhere between Hush and Sosander. They’re a very new start up and so I can’t tell you much about them but you can see the full collection at JLP here. It was this green dress that stood out to me, it’s the colour of Springtime so I thought I’d give it a try. This is how you can see the new fluid approach to getting dressed working – you could wear it with trainers during the day and then slip on a pair of heels for a glass of wine in a bar (these things will happen).

Green ruffle dress, also available in black

It’s made from sustainable viscose and the ruffled hem gives it weight so it has great movement as you walk, it does crease a bit though. The waistband looks fixed from a distance but it’s actually shirred making it extremely comfortable to wear. The detail that I particularly like is the dipped hem at the back which gives it a hint of flamenco – you can be your own dancing lady emoji.

Green ruffle dress, also available in black

Relaxed chic jumper and jeans

My wild card outfit actually ended up being a favourite. Thought is a brand that I’ve lingered over quite often but I’ve never ordered from them because they tend to present their clothes worn in an oversized way which doesn’t work for me. And this is where the magic of having brands like this at JL&P comes in, because you know returns are straightforward it’s worth going out of your tried and tested zone every so often.

I really like wide leg cropped jeans but you can never tell how they’re going to hang until you try them on. For the neatest line you need stiff denim, otherwise they tend to bunch around your thighs and look a mess. This pair is absolutely fantastic. There are no classic jeans pockets at the front and that can sometimes make you look wider but not on this pair because they’re so well cut. There’s no unnecessary volume at the top of the thigh and they fit beautifully at the back. I believe them when they say they’re made in the very best denim factory, the wash is chlorine and chemical-free and they’re fully GOTS and OEKO-TEX® certified.

Ecru denim crops; Organic cotton jumper

When I requested it I didn’t know if I was going to be able to make the jumper work, I expected to have to tuck it in but it’s actually so beautifully cut that it sits perfectly. I can’t quite express how lovely it is to wear so I hope you can tell from the photographs. This is where it’s going to be so good for these small brands to have JL&P behind them. I would never have picked this outfit from their own website because of the styling but I’m so thrilled with it that I now want to try lots of their other pieces.

Ecru denim crops; Organic cotton jumper

So there’s lots of exciting newness ahead at John Lewis & Partners this season and as we’ve seen, a refreshing new approach to retail. You’ll notice the new brands appearing on the website over the next few weeks – Baukjen and Kemi Telford have still to arrive, as have Girlfriend Collective, Aab and lots of others. Change has been accelerated in the world of retail as a result of lockdown and the rethinking that’s had to be done – but if other brands emerge with as much intelligence as JL&P, I think we’ll find that good has come out of a difficult time.

Midlife lately

Not much news to report this week other than that I have had my Covid jab which is something I feel very grateful for. As soon as I got my notification I stalked the site every ten minutes and managed to get a cancellation for last Saturday so off I went. I had the Astra Zeneca vaccine and had no qualms about it. Everyone reacts differently but quite a few people I know have had feverish side effects, some quite badly so I took a couple of paracetamol before I went and kept that up for 24 hours so that didn’t hit me. I did have crazy, almost hallucinatory dreams all night though and I felt wiped out on Sunday which gave me a good excuse to spend Mother’s Day on the sofa being tended by my offspring. On Monday I was ok but didn’t feel up to a run (nothing new there!)… by Tuesday I was back to normal.

We’re so lucky to have the vaccine rolling out so quickly in this country and if you haven’t had it, I hope you manage to get yours soon. As somebody who very much comes from an arts background, this year has given me a whole new appreciation of everybody who works in science and medicine. And I hope they feel the same way about the creative industries. Without science and medicine we wouldn’t be coming out of this but without the arts we’d never have got through it – films, TV, music, books and websites have kept most of us sane in lockdown. Let’s hope there’s an opportunity for both sides to flourish again in 2021. Have a lovely weekend and I’ll be back next week.

Disclosure: ‘What’s going on at John Lewis & Partners?’ was commissioned by JL&P. As always I was given full freedom over outfits choice and discussion points. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Midlifechic.