Marks & Spencer taps Aries to revive historic St Michael label

Marks & Spencer is partnering with London luxury streetwear label Aries on a 26-piece collection that reworks its historic St Michael label following renewed interest on social media and resale platforms.

The M&S x Aries limited-edition capsule, launching on 20 August, will feature womenswear, menswear and accessories, with prices ranging from £10 for socks and £30 for a Spencer Bear T-shirt, to £120 for a silk dress.

According to the retailer, Aries has reinterpreted the heritage label’s design codes, infusing the new range with its own distinctive visual language to to create a collection that “feels rich in heritage yet unmistakably contemporary”.  

The collection blends the heritage of the St Michael label with modern streetwear, pulling from the label’s archive – including its crests, angel motif and the Penny Bazaar imagery and iconic Spencer Bear – alongside Aries’ signature codes, including gothic lettering, Ionic columns, Roman coins and the brand’s Temple logo. 

The resulting range combines both tailoring and sportswear pieces, featuring striped shirts, ties, pinstripe tailoring, tracksuits, hoodies, graphic sweatshirts, knitwear, slip dresses and a matching cardigan and brief set.

The collaboration also extends to accessories, including a soft green leather handbag (priced at £90) that recreates the shape and appearance of a familiar M&S carrier bag, as well as brooches and hair clips.

The retailer said the partnership responds to renewed interest in the St Michael label across social media and resale platforms, where vintage pieces have attracted younger shoppers.

A quick search on Vinted reveals over 500 search results for ‘Saint Michael’, with dresses, shoes, coats and skirts available for sale for around £25. 

According to Aries founder and Creative Director Sofia Prantera, the collection draws on personal ties that she has with M&S. Prantera, who started the streetwear label out of a love of trash culture, outsider art, graphics and illustration, said that “M&S was part of family life. 

“Every summer we would visit from Italy, and it was where I bought my lambswool jumpers. Working with the archive brought back a lot of those memories,” she said. 

“Some of my favourite pieces in the collection come from personal references. Spencer Bear was gifted to me by my grandmother when I was a child, so it was fun to reintroduce him in an unexpected way. The collaboration gave us an opportunity to revisit things that felt genuinely familiar and look at them through a different lens. 

“M&S is a true British institution that has played a role in so many people’s lives and memories. To be invited to work with such an iconic brand, and to bring our own perspective to its heritage, has been a real privilege.”

Maddy Evans, Womenswear Director at M&S, added: “Whilst Aries and M&S come from different corners of the fashion world, both brands have built strong identities through distinctive design codes and a loyal following.

“Bringing those worlds together created an opportunity to offer something familiar yet entirely fresh, translating Aries’ iconic creative handwriting through the lens of St Michael and making it accessible to a broader audience at a high-street price point.” 

St Michael label history 

The St Michael label was first introduced across M&S clothing in 1928 by the son of the retailer’s co-founder Michael Marks, and it remained one of the retailer’s main own-brand labels across clothing, accessories and homewares until it was discontinued in 2000.

It briefly returned on two menswear products – a men’s rugby shirt and sweatshirt – in 2021, but the Aries collaboration marks the proper return of the label. 

The new collaboration will be available through the M&S website and selected stores.

The capsule arrives as M&S marks 100 years of fashion in 2026, with the retailer also preparing for its London Fashion Week debut in September, where it will present a shoppable womenswear and menswear collection.