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Marks & Spencer launched its much-anticipated collaboration with Bella Freud on Thursday, with fans quickly buying up items from the 27-piece collection.<\/p>\n

By lunchtime, coveted items such as the pleated pinstripe skirt had been bought in most sizes from the website, and by Friday morning the majority of the items had sold out in most sizes online. The retailer says the collection will not be restocked.<\/p>\n

The success of the collection is partially because Freud\u2019s trademark slogan knitwear and retro aesthetic are a good fit with Marks & Spencer. \u201cFreud has such a knack for creating personality-packed pieces that are easy to wear and appealing to all ages,\u201d says Joy Montgomery, the shopping editor at Vogue. \u201cThis, paired with the British public\u2019s universal love of M&S, makes for a pretty potent pairing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hype around the sellout has to be put into context, because collaboration ranges are often produced in much smaller quantities than the majority of items on the shop floor. \u201cIt would not be the same sort of volume as the core Marks & Spencer lines,\u201d confirms the retail commentator Catherine Shuttleworth. \u201cIt could be hundreds, rather than thousands.\u201d<\/p>\n

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However, the Freud collaboration does remains a success in its category. It can be compared to John Lewis\u2019s collaboration<\/a> with the London-based brand A.W.A.K.E. Mode. Also launched on Thursday, most items remained in stock online by Friday morning. \u201cWhen you\u2019re choosing a collab as a retailer, you\u2019ve got to remember who you are,\u201d says Shuttleworth. \u201cI shop in John Lewis, I\u2019m thinking, \u2018Who are [A.W.A.K.E. Mode]?\u2019 whereas I knew who Bella Freud was straight away. You get hits and misses for collabs, you\u2019ve got to be really good at understanding the consumer.\u201d<\/p>\n

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