Pick up your new designer chic at Asda! The classiest supermarket collaboration yet - with one of Hollywood's favourite labels...
- Serbian-born, London-based Roksanda Ilincic has partnered with ASDA
- READ MORE: As London Fashion week approaches, our style expert reveals the 6 preppy essentials to buy now for your autumn uniform
Certainly, it’s not every day that a designer with the credentials of Roksanda Ilincic decides to partner with a supermarket fashion brand.
But, happily, to mark London Fashion Week’s 40th anniversary, Ilincic – one of the Princess of Wales’s favourite designers – has conjured up a 30-piece capsule collection in collaboration with George, the first supermarket fashion brand to launch in the UK and, to many customers’ minds, still the best.
The result: Roksanda x George, an accessible, affordable wardrobe for grown-ups – it launches tomorrow – that can be picked up at Asda as easily as the groceries. Although given how tempting everything looks, you may find you need a bigger trolley.
While Serbian-born, London-based Ilincic might be revered for making Hollywood actresses like Emma Stone and Anne Hathaway shine on the red carpet, this collection for George at Asda sees her explore her more practical side, with a slew of everyday basics in rich autumnal hues that will integrate into your existing wardrobe with ease.
And if the sudden shift in seasons has made you hate everything you already own, Ilincic has a fix for that, too. The collection has been cleverly designed as a capsule, in colours and shapes that complement each other, and can be rotated according to your needs.
Borg jacket, £30, hoodie, £24, trousers, £22, george.com. Trainers, £80, gola.co.uk. Earrings, £120, byalona.com
Top, £24, skirt, £24, george.com. Boots, £200, dunelondon.com. Earrings, £120, byalona.com
Dress, £28, george.com. Earrings, £420, theysso.com
But its biggest draw, in these cash-strapped times, is surely its pricing. While the term ‘affordable luxury’ is bandied about with increasing frequency (all too often it’s used by brands who seem to imagine that a £250 dress or a £300 coat can simply be rolled into the weekly budget without a second thought), the most expensive item in this collection is a trench coat, at a truly accessible £60.
Most items, however, cost considerably less. The least expensive, a classic T-shirt, is just £14.
Another bargain is the £18 scarf, which Ilincic designed to be as versatile as possible. Thanks to the shape of the scarf and its dual colourway of pink and plum, it can also be worn as a shawl or even as a skirt.
Such versatility is at the heart of the collection, most of which occupies that sweet spot between not looking too overdressed nor too overly casual.
A pair of dark-wash jeans, for example, are smart enough for the office but also useful for weekends. An orange sweater and maxi skirt could either be worn separately or together.
Ilincic recognises that many of us dress in a more relaxed way, so items such as a pair of wide-leg joggers come with a comfortable elasticated waist but are elevated by their decorative press studs.
A navy jersey dress, meanwhile, is saved from looking too formal by its ribbed cuffs and a drawstring waist.
While Roksanda x George is considerably more affordable than Ilincic’s main line (where a dress will set you back £1,600), it still shares a similar aesthetic, so her signature colour blocking technique runs through the collection, as does her love of bright contrasting hues.
Dress, £28, george.com. Boots, £200, dunelondon.com. Earrings, £125, byalona.com
Trench, £60, hoodie, £24, trousers, £22, george.com. Trainers, £80, gola.co.uk
Puffer, £55, jeans, £25, george.com. Shoes £80, gola.co.uk
If you’ve never thought to wear kingfisher blue with navy, or burgundy with fuchsia, now’s the perfect time to experiment.
Ilinic, awarded an MBE for services to fashion earlier this year, decided to partner with George as a way of celebrating the British Fashion Council’s ongoing support of new British designers. When she launched her own collection in 2005, she was a beneficiary of its support.
If your invitation to Roksanda’s catwalk show on Saturday got lost in the post, never mind. Any fan can shop her new collection at Asda – no invitation required.
For a midlife wardrobe at purse-friendly prices, you now know where to head.
