As big firms from HSBC to John Lewis demand staff head back to the office, jogging bottoms are out and the suit is back.
The declaration comes from Marks & Spencer as it says its shoppers have ranked it as more stylish than Zara for the first time after a major fashion overhaul.
The High Street retailer is targeting men who want to sharpen up their work wardrobes in its autumn and winter ranges – just as dark clouds gather over the job market.
It has seen an 8 per cent increase in sales of suits over the past year, now selling more than half a million of them per year.
And it has recruited model David Gandy as its ambassador of tailoring and the face of a future Jaeger campaign. M&S is pinning its hopes on smart outfits to boost menswear sales.
Mitch Hughes, director of menswear, said: ‘Men’s formalwear continues to be a growth category for us as men look to smarten up their wardrobes for the office.’
Model David Gandy as its ambassador of tailoring and the face of a future Jaeger campaign.
But the pandemic has still left some mark as Hughes says there has been a shift ‘towards more smart-casual, versatile dressing’.
Consumers are now more likely to want to pair a smart blazer and trousers with a more casual T-shirt and trainers, compared to the formal shirt and smart shoes of years gone by.
This was reflected in 2022 when the Office for National Statistics removed suits from the basket of goods it uses to calculate the annual inflation rate in 2022.
It replaced them with a ‘formal jacket or blazer’.
Hughes added: ‘Stylish separates that flex across office, weekend and occasion are key and our latest collection reflects this with breathable fabrics, stretch innovation and modern fits that prioritise comfort, movement, and style.’
As many firms make mass redundancies in the face of higher costs, workers have been described as trying to cling onto their jobs in ‘the great stay’.
This is in contrast to a ‘great resignation’ trend that occurred during the pandemic.
M&S has grown its share of the men’s suits market from 14.2 per cent last year to 19.4 per cent in the year to April 2025.
Its new range includes a £120 machine washable suit and a £28 smart trouser which can be bought in different fits, including ‘skinny’ and ‘relaxed’.
The group is trying to entice younger male customers by recruiting its celebrity ambassadors, including Spencer Matthews and Ian Wright, to share style advice online.
After using celebrities including Sienna Miller and Hannah Waddingham to win over younger women in a fashion shake-up, M&S today said it had beaten rival Zara in a survey among women for the first time.
M&S shoppers had previously rated Zara as more fashionable than M&S – but now they think M&S is number one on style.
And it achieved its highest-ever ‘style ranking’ with shoppers aged 18-34, according to the same YouGov survey.
M&S started tracking its style perceptions with the surveys in 2021, when it had just started embarking on a mission to shake off a reputation for ‘dowdy’ clothes.
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