Throwback with modern touch for winter at M&S

AT A SNEAK preview of Marks & Spencer’s autumn-winter collections in London, updated British tailoring and heritage fabrics such as tweed and velvet, alongside modern minimalist shapes, colours and digital prints, made for a winning combination of traditional and modern.

It was divided into five categories: 21st century, Arts Crafts, Demure, Gothic Romance, and Military, each refreshing the familiar. The emphasis was on coats, with a terrific variety on offer at affordable prices.

Twenty-first century was code for the main trends: digital-print jersey dresses, curved- shouldered coats in voguish sapphire blue or leather tunic tops. Arts Crafts blended cotton wax jackets, chunky collared shearlings or parkas with jumpers, leggings or shaggy knits, a sophisticated mixture of textures and fabrics. A mirror brocade skirt with a horse-print jumper and tweed jacket was a typical take on English style, while the more flamboyant border print 1970s flares had similar attitude and references.

Sharp silhouettes kept dark decorative and geometric clashing prints in order, enlivened with beaded collars, a typical look being gold and black metallic print trousers worn with a black cutwork shirt. Such opulence was in stark contrast to the pale hues and simple Jil Sander-style shapes that made for some soft, cool and ladylike ensembles. A dusty pink coat (€135) with a grey silk shirt (€47.50) and brocade trousers (€60) nailed winter 2012 and the modern colour spectrum in one.