FROW NEWS #129: M&S Gives St Michael a Streetwear Makeover, Daily Paper Digs Into Heritage and Pat McGrath Paints the Monogram 🐻🪙💄
Fashion month has not technically started, but this week’s inbox appears to have missed the memo. Autumn has arrived carrying cult collaborations, new denim and enough outerwear to make us briefly forgive the changing weather.
Beauty is matching that energy, moving between £23 dessert-scented lip balms and £260 Monogram eyeshadow. Beyond the shopping, September is filling up with fashion events across the country, poetry on prescription and a major new gallery in Durham. Let’s get into it.
St Michael Has Entered Its Streetwear Era at M&S 🐻🛍️
For generations of British shoppers, St Michael meant everything from school jumpers and underwear to the dependable clothes hanging in Mum’s wardrobe. Now M&S has handed its historic label to London streetwear brand Aries for a 26-piece limited collection filled with archive graphics, tailoring and nostalgia that knows exactly what it is doing.
The green M&S carrier bag has become a leather tote for £90, while Spencer Bear has been given an Aries wardrobe of his own across a £25 T-shirt and £45 collectable keyring. There are also pure cotton printed joggers for £50, a pure cashmere crew neck cardigan for £95 and a £15 Greek column hairband for anyone who wants a smaller piece of the collaboration.
This is not M&S quietly bringing back an old logo. It is treating St Michael as a fashion asset with enough cultural memory to become desirable again, particularly among shoppers who never expected to see it beside an Aries logo. The less exciting part is the sizing, with the women’s blazer stopping at a UK 18 and several unisex pieces only reaching a large.
Billie Jean King’s History-Making Blue Suede Shoes Are Back 🎾💙
The blue suede adidas shoes Billie Jean King wore to defeat Bobby Riggs in 1973 were never simply a good tennis look. An estimated 90 million people watched the so-called Battle of the Sexes, turning her victory into a defining moment for women’s sport and the wider fight for equality.
More than 50 years later, adidas is bringing the shoes back as a lifestyle trainer. King’s portrait and signature sit on the tongue; “1973” appears on the left heel and the winning scores, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, are marked on the right. Her words “Pressure is a privilege” appear inside. The return is timed with the final major tennis tournament of the season, but its meaning reaches well beyond the court. The Blue Suede Shoe launches on 24th August through adidas, its app and selected stockists.
Daily Paper Is Treating Heritage as Fashion’s Most Valuable Currency 🌍🪙
Daily Paper’s new Signal From the Soil collection begins with a question: what happens when heritage is treated as something valuable enough to carry into the future? Its answer appears across coin stamps, repeated symbols, protective motifs and earthy colours inspired by African ancestral practices.
Soft brown velvet denim has been cut into an oversized jacket and £159.95 jeans, while the £159.95 Camo hoodie brings a more graphic energy. A Hawaiian Sunset sweater costs £119.95, and army-green cargo trousers are £159.95, with the blue Croc Jacquard denim set still marked as coming soon.
This is fashion rooted in identity without being trapped by the past. The denim, puffers, tactile knitwear and workwear make the bigger idea easy to wear, while sizing currently runs from XS to XXL across many styles.
Maura Higgins Is Carrying GUESS Into Her Dancing With the Stars Era 👜💃🏻
Maura Higgins is fronting the GUESS FW26 Allegra campaign ahead of her confirmed appearance on the forthcoming season of Dancing With the Stars. Shot beside a vintage roadster, the campaign plays with polished Mod styling while keeping the new bags firmly in focus.
The Allegra collection covers tote, satchel and shoulder bags with structured pleating, knotted laces, soft faux suede and bronze-toned hardware. Cognac, Espresso and Olive bring the necessary autumn colour, while prices sit between £110 and £135.
River Island Is Making Autumn Denim a Couple’s Affair 👖🤎
River Island is bringing Sophie Piper and Joshua Ritchie into its autumn denim story with Lust Story Act 1, a new campaign built around barrel, flare and relaxed straight jeans. The couple bring a little Love Island chemistry, while the styling moves between double denim, casual separates and going-out looks to show how the season’s key shapes can work beyond one matching moment.
Current options include classic barrel jeans from £36, relaxed straight styles around £49 and more detailed ripped barrel cuts for £52. Selected women’s jeans run from UK sizes 4 to 28, with petite, longer-length and maternity options available across the wider range, giving more of us a way to try the season’s key denim shapes.
On Just Made Its First Sneaker Mule With FKA twigs, and It Lands Next Week 👟
On and FKA twigs have already explored training together. Their next collection moves into the hours afterwards, when the workout is finished, and comfort becomes the priority.
At its centre is the Cloudmonster 3 Mule, On’s first mule silhouette. The £170 slip-on keeps the exaggerated Cloudmonster cushioning, adds a soft terry lining and secures the foot with an adjustable strap. It arrives in earthy Cacao/Espresso and Loess/Hare colourways, with women’s sizing running from a UK 3 to 10.
The accompanying clothes stay within that off-duty mood, including a £150 Club Collective Full Zip Hoodie and £120 trousers in relaxed shapes and soft textures. The collection launches on 27th August through On and selected stockists.
Fashion Britain Is Taking Fashion Week Energy Across the UK 👗👠
Fashion Britain will bring more than 1,000 events to Bristol, Dundee, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Newcastle, giving the public access to talks, exhibitions, performances, shopping experiences and workshops.
Highlights include Nicholas Daley and Charles Jeffrey at V&A Dundee on 4th September, a fashion and music programme in Manchester on 12th and appearances from Patrick McDowell and Talia Byre at Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery on 21st. London remains the busiest stop, but there are also ways to join from home, including a free Kurt Geiger fashion-business course and pre-loved shopping through eBay Live.
We recently asked how national British fashion really is, particularly when Birmingham, Wales and Northern Ireland are absent from this first programme. Those questions still matter, but giving more people ways to experience designers and fashion culture closer to home is a welcome move.
Your Wedding Dress Does Not Have to Spend Forever in a Box 👰🏼♀️♻️
A wedding dress can take months to choose, hours to alter and one day to wear. Andrea Hawkes’ new Ever After service is offering another ending, transforming bridal gowns into clothes that can return to weddings, birthdays, dinners and other parts of the life that follows.
Changes can be as simple as removing a train or shortening the dress, with alterations beginning at £275. Alteration and dyeing packages typically cost between £800 and £1,200, covering solid colours, ombré effects and botanical prints. More substantial remodelling into an evening dress, cocktail dress or separates is priced individually.
The service is available year-round for Andrea Hawkes brides, while dresses by other designers can be considered through Ever After clinics. The next clinic takes place on 25th September, remote enquiries are accepted and transformations usually take around eight weeks. What can be achieved will depend on the dress and its fabric, so each gown is assessed individually.
Pat McGrath Is Giving Louis Vuitton’s Monogram Its Make-up Moment 💄👜
Dame Pat McGrath and Louis Vuitton women’s artistic director Nicolas Ghesquière have spent years creating runway looks together. Now they have turned that partnership into the first limited-edition collaboration for La Beauté Louis Vuitton, marking 130 years of the house’s Monogram.
Monogram Dune takes the softer route with warm beige, rose-gold and illuminated nude shades. Monogram Infrarouge moves into charcoal, cool taupe, burgundy and blackened red. Each colour story includes a four-pan eyeshadow palette, satin lipstick and light-catching topper balm, presented in refillable cases based on the corresponding canvas.
The price confirms that Louis Vuitton is selling these as collectable objects as much as make-up. Each LV Ombres palette costs £260, while the limited-edition lipsticks are £145. The collection is available online and reaches LV stores on 27th August.
KAYALI Is Taking Its Yum Fragrances Beyond the Bottle 🍨💋
KAYALI has spent years encouraging people to layer perfume. Its first Yum Lip & Body collection now takes that ritual beyond the fragrance bottle, turning Yum Boujee Marshmallow | 81 and Yum Pistachio Gelato | 33 into scented body creams and lip balms.
The £48 Silk Soufflé Body Creams come in 240g tubs with hyaluronic acid and a blend of oils. KAYALI says they provide up to 24 hours of hydration while creating a moisturised base for fragrance. Boujee Marshmallow brings together strawberry, pink marshmallow and whipped vanilla, while Pistachio Gelato combines bergamot, pistachio and whipped cream.
The £23 Cashmere Kiss Lip Balms continue the same scents, with a tinted pink Marshmallow balm and a clear Pistachio option. Pre-orders are open now, followed by a Sephora app preview on 27th August and a wider launch on 28th through Boots, Sephora UK, Space NK, Cult Beauty, ASOS, Harrods and Selfridges.
Chanel Has a New Coco Mademoiselle Crush, and You Can Meet It for Free 💘🌹
Gracie Abrams has become the new face of Coco Mademoiselle as Chanel adds Crush Absolu to the fragrance family. The new scent brings grapefruit and lychee into rose, jasmine and patchouli before settling into warmer notes of vanilla and vetiver. It costs £117 for 50ml or £160 for 100ml.
Rather than keeping the launch behind a fragrance counter, Chanel is taking Crush Absolu around the country through a series of free kiosks. John Lewis Oxford Street hosts the experience until 25th August, followed by Liverpool Paradise Place from 4th to 12th September and Selfridges Manchester Exchange Square from 25th September to 4th October.
Visitors can sample the fragrance, answer a playful telephone to hear a message from their “crush”, pick up a Chanel ribbon bracelet and potentially receive a small bouquet. The Oxford Street stop also continues inside with three limited-edition make-up products, but the fragrance experience itself is free and does not require a purchase.
Lush Is Prescribing Poetry and Pumpkin Spice This Autumn 🍂📖
Lush Fest is bringing bath-bomb making, fragrance readings, skincare sessions, music, talks and sensory workshops to 11 shops and spas across ten cities between August and October. Birmingham, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Cardiff, Dublin, London, Bath and Poole are all included, with many sessions available for free and paid events generally costing between £10 and £12 through the Lush app.
One of the loveliest ideas arrives at Lush Spa Bath from 17th to 19th September. The Poetry Pharmacy will offer free mini consultations before choosing a poem for whatever feeling, question or moment a visitor brings with them. No appointment is required, the experience is open to all ages and the venue is wheelchair accessible.
And because pumpkin spice was never going to remain confined to the coffee cup, the autumn collection brings the scent into bathrooms too. The limited-edition Pumpkin Spice Soap costs £7, while the matching single-wick candle is £14, combining clove, ginger and carob resin.
Tracey Emin and Steve McQueen Are Lighting Up Durham’s New Gallery 💡🎨
A former museum building in Durham has reopened as The Light, a new gallery and museum bringing major contemporary art to the North East. Its first exhibition, Victory Over the Sun: Encounters With Light, includes work by Tracey Emin, Steve McQueen and Olafur Eliasson, exploring how artificial light can become material, message and atmosphere.
The exhibition runs until 17th January 2027, with adult tickets costing £10 online or £12.50 at the door. Under-18 tickets are £2.50, an exhibition season pass costs £25 and accompanying creative workshops, including watercolour, mosaics, cyanotype and printmaking, begin at £8.
Opening with names of this scale gives The Light a clear identity from the beginning and gives North East audiences another major cultural space closer to home. It also leaves plenty of time to plan a visit without squeezing one more event into an already crowded August weekend.
That is your lot for this week. September is already filling the diary, so choose what deserves your time and money, leave the rest, and we will be back with whatever fashion month sends our way next.
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