All the items in M&S’ new collection to celebrate their 100-year anniversary to shop now, according to a top stylist

FROM Percy Pigs and Colin the Caterpillar to Autograph and Per Una, Marks & Spencer is woven into the very fabric of British life. This year, the high street giant celebrates 100 years of selling clothing, and it remains the nation’s top choice for style and value among both men and women. To mark a century on the racks, M&S has dropped a nostalgic new collection Credit: Getty Emily Regan also reveals how M&S’ innovations from the last 100 years have shaped what is still sold today Credit: M&S To mark a century on the racks, M&S has dropped a nostalgic new collection honouring its most famed heritage pieces, which includes references to the original Penny Bazaar and the return of the St Michael label, famously retired in 2000. Shoppers will even be able to buy the shop’s famed green carrier bag, which has had a luxe makeover and been reimagined in soft green leather. Here, Emily Regan takes a look back through the decades at how M&S really does stand the test of time, and how the innovations from the last 100 years have shaped what is still sold today. 1920S In the last 100 years, lingerie has been a big department for the brand. Bra, £28, Rosie at M&S Credit: M&S More than 40 years after M&S opened as a Penny Bazaar, it began selling its first clothes – bras, garters, directoire knickers, sanitary belts and bodices. And in the last 100 years, lingerie has been a big department for the brand. Not only has it been the first stop for countless women buying their lingerie, but its fitting service is something of a rite of passage for many girls growing up. Today, M&S is the UK market leader for lingerie, with one in three British women buying their knickers from there and a bra being sold every two seconds. It also has supermodel status, with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley fronts her own lingerie collection with the brand. This year, the brand has taken shapewear to a whole new level, also with the introduction of M&S Body – soft lingerie and shapewear that rivals Kim Kardashian‘s billion-dollar Skims range. 1930S M&S began offering school clothing in the 1930s Many parents will be scrambling to M&S in the next few weeks to get their back-to-school essentials for September. It’s something that began in the 1930s, offering cardigans, trousers and ties, with ‘Back To School’ branding in store windows. Today, the range is far bigger, with clever features including crease-resistant, stain-resistant and water-repellent pieces, proving schoolwear has had quite the glow-up. 1940S The utility dress’ timeless silhouette continues to flatter Dress, £38, M&S Credit: M&S During the Second World War, M&S worked closely with the government, creating garments to strict specifications and using high-quality, hard-wearing fabrics designed with longevity in mind. Enter the creation of the utility dress, practical and stylish; eighty years later, you can still find the same style in stores now. Today, the same emphasis on quality and longevity remains at the heart of the brand, with M&S still recognised for well-made pieces. The structured shape, nipped-in waist and flattering midi length that made the original style both practical and polished remain just as relevant today. With its waist-defining fit and elongating proportions, it’s easy to see why this timeless silhouette continues to flatter and why M&S styles stand the test of time. 1950S ‘Designer dupe’ might be a phrase made for social media, but the idea of recreating high-end fashion for less has been around for decades.Dior was the height of fashion in the 1950s; its ‘New Look’ collection swapped the boxy silhouettes of wartime dressing for tiny waists and voluminous skirts. M&S quickly brought the look to the masses with affordable interpretations, proving that high fashion didn’t have to come with a couture price tag. Fast forward to today and the appetite for designer-inspired pieces shows no signs of slowing down. M&S has had its own viral moments in recent years, from sell-out £40 leopard-print jeans likened to a £235 Ganni pair, to suede brown loafers almost identical to a YSL pair- so popular, they returned for a second season. Now the shop is reaching new heights of fashion in 2026, securing a spot on the London Fashion Week schedule for AW26. 1960S M&S was seen as an actively modernising brand during the Sixties Red Mini Dress, £46, M&S Credit: M&S Mini skirt, £26, M&S Credit: M&S The swinging sixties are synonymous with hemlines getting shorter, thanks to Mary Quant and the mini dress. M&S was seen as an actively modernising brand during this time, so it was no wonder that it also adopted this new shorter style. Advertising this new look with the model of the moment – Twiggy, the supermodel launched a mini dress in 1966 with the tagline ‘well-above the knee for the young go-ahead’. Now in 2026, the mini has remained firmly on the rails; M&S has designed a range of shorter style dresses and skirts, attracting shoppers who are, on average, 12 years younger than the brand’s typical customer. Want to knock a few years off your look? Try taking a few inches off your hemline. 1970S In the 70s, M&S’ black polo-neck jumper became the best selling women’s garment in the UK Credit: M&S Roll neck, £36, M&S Credit: M&S In 1975, M&S made fashion history when its £2.50 black polo-neck jumper became the best-selling women’s garment in Britain. The jumper – worth about £27 in today’s money – was the blueprint for what M&S would become best known for: affordable, well-made wardrobe heroes that quietly earn cult status. Just over 50 years later, you can pretty much buy the same polo, now also coming in a range of different colours, showing just how much a good quality basic can stand the test of time. 1980S In 1987, M&S launched a maternity collection and it was a significant step for the retailer Maternity over the bump leggings, £22, M&S Credit: M&S In 1987, M&S was already making moves towards a more inclusive approach to fashion, launching a dedicated plus range for women in sizes up to 24, later extending to 28, alongside a maternity collection. It was a significant step for a high-street retailer at the time, recognising that women didn’t come in one standard shape or size and that their wardrobes shouldn’t either. This has now become part of M&S’s DNA, with a majority of the brand’s core collection available up to a size 38, with many styles offered across petite, regular and tall fits too. The maternity offering remains, while the old ‘Plus’ label has evolved into ‘Curve’. 1990S The 1990s saw the supermodel phenomenon reach fever pitch, with fashion’s biggest names becoming household celebrities. M&S was right there in the mix, with Claudia Schiffer, Linda Evangelista and Yasmin Le Bon all modelling for the brand at the height of their supermodel status. And the winning formula continues today, with M&S swapping the supermodels of the past for some of the biggest names around. Most recently, the retailer has tapped into the star power of Gillian Anderson and Michelle Keegan, bringing a fresh dose of celebrity appeal to its clothing campaigns. 2000S In the noughties, M&S phased out the ‘St Michael’ brand it was known for to introduce a whole new range. Autograph launched in 2000, followed by Per Una in 2001, two names that have become firmly established within the M&S fashion offering.Both ranges remain part of M&S today, but the brand has continued to broaden its offering. Jaeger now sits alongside them as a more premium proposition, plus it has also embraced a more department-store-style approach, bringing in a growing roster of concession brands to offer customers an even wider selection. 2010S M&S’ original green bag The bag has had a luxe re-design for 2026 Credit: M&S After four decades as one of M&S’s most recognisable faces, Twiggy took her relationship with the brand a step further in 2012, launching her own collection. The appetite was huge, with a silver sequin jacket famously selling out within just two hours. The celebrity collaboration formula proved a hit again in 2016, when Alexa Chung created a 31-piece collection inspired by the M&S archive, followed by Holly Willoughby’s hugely popular edit in 2018, which sent shoppers into a frenzy for a navy boilersuit. Since then, M&S has leaned into the cult appeal of limited-edition drops, teaming up with the likes of Bella Freud and 16Arlington. Both collections sold out quickly, proving M&S knows exactly what its customers want, even 100 years later.