By Ruby Ellis
Alexa Chung is one of the most influential and sought after style icons of the decade. Anything she is snapped wearing seems to fly off the shelves immediately. She has a long lists of titles to her name including model, contributing editor to British Vogue and fashion designer.
Her most recent venture is a 27-piece winter clothing collection released with British high street staple M&S, available instore and online from November 1st. This is the second collection Alexa has brought out with the brand, as the spring Archive by Alexa Chung collection was a huge success, with many items selling out. The idea of the collection is to bring an evening twist to classic winter pieces, so you can seamlessly transition from cold winter days to glamorous nights this party season.
It is not hard to determine who designed the collection as it clearly reflects Alexa’s own quirky and unique style, with some very typical features such as high necklines, as can be seen on The Lovell Blouse (£35), and cropped hems as demonstrated by the Clarendon Tux trousers (£55) and the Calverley dress (£49.50). All the items have a timeless feel, original yet versatile.
Another feature of the collection is the varied and interesting textures used. Two velvet items, one of the most prevalent fabrics of choice this season, appear in the form of the Wade Velvet Boots (£65) and the Merrion dress (£39.50), both in a midnight navy colour and the Kirkgate mini skirt (£35) is made of an unusual, metallic, grainy material. One of the most popular items (which only has very few sizes still available on the M&S website) the Briggate trench (£89) is a high shine, PVC inspired fitted coat that is eye catching to say the least. This same shiny finish and trench coat style has been very popular on the catwalk for AW16, which is no surprise as Alexa spends a lot of her time in the front row.
Many of Alexa’s fans are excited to get their hands on the collection. Art student Roberta, 18, said: “It’s cool that she’s making her own personal style more available to her fans by choosing a brand that can easily be found on the high street.” However, not everyone agrees. Ren, also 18, said she would wear some of the items but the rest is “a bit underwhelming for someone like Alexa Chung”. Nevertheless, this may have been a deliberate move to bridge the gap from the high fashion elements of her style to make the collection more wearable for a larger audience.
Many of the pieces are already selling out fast both in store and online, so if you are keen to pick anything up, you may want to act quickly.