A lifeline': how fashion designers came to love the high street collab

"When the boss of Marks & Spencer reported a drop in clothing sales in its latest half-year results on Wednesday, he was keen to stress the problems were down to spring's devastating cyber-attack and not due to lack of demand. Stuart Machin said the once-staid retailer had been inundated with requests for its fashion range, which has been revitalised in recent years and was again lifted by last year's collaboration with designer Bella Freud."

"It came on the same day H&M unveiled a similar venture with Glenn Martens, the Belgian designer about to take over at Maison Margiela. The two launches capped an autumnal flurry of collaborations between independent brands and high street stores. Last month, John Lewis brought out collections with Labrum and Rejina Pyo, while Debenhams did one with the king of sequins Ashish Gupta and M&S continued its Bella Freud collab with a range of eye-catching knits."

"Collabs have become an established part of high street fashion since the trend kicked off in the 1990s with Designers at Debenhams, which has drawn in names such as Jasper Conran, Matthew Williamson and Julien Macdonald over the year. H&M did their first in 2004, with Karl Lagerfeld, while Topshop made headlines in the noughties working with Kate Moss and Christopher Kane."

Marks & Spencer reported a half-year drop in clothing sales and attributed the decline to spring's devastating cyber-attack rather than weak consumer demand. Stuart Machin said the retailer was inundated with requests for its revitalised fashion range, strengthened by past collaborations with Bella Freud and a new tie-up with London label 16Arlington offering sequins, statement coats and feathered tops for the festive season. H&M launched a collaboration with Glenn Martens. John Lewis, Debenhams and other high-street names have rolled out designer partnerships. Collaborations have been a high-street strategy since the 1990s and now offer independent designers commercial outlets.

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