John Lewis aims to move on from floral midi dress trend

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Feb 13, 2023

Shock news from John Lewis. The UK department store retailer has announced the floral dress has finally had its day.

The reason? It’s because women love floral, with the reverse philosophy coming from the retailer’s design director Queralt Ferrer.

Ferrer, who joined John Lewis last summer, said: “That [popularity] was one of the main items that we thought we’ve got to move on from. It’s not easy because customers love them, but it’s a trend that has been around for too long and they were everywhere. We want to give people a reason to buy something new.”

Instead, the plan is to offer women the option of trophy knits, wide-legged denim, relaxed linen suiting and block colours. There will be statement silhouettes with more graphic prints.

Supporting her floral cull, Ferrer said: “Our customer still loves a floral dress – and of course, we listen to her and make sure we have what she likes. But we don’t want her to just keep buying what she already owns.”

‘Considered shopping’ is being seen as the key takeaway from Ferrer’s debut collection. By editing down the floral dress offer and focusing on more relevant and considered pieces, John Lewis said it aims to become “a more significant player in fashion”.

And while it may struggle to convince customers it's doing the right thing, the push to promote newness makes commercial sense longer term.