The Woman Who Dressed Us
In Partnership with John Lewis
Jacqui Markham is the former Topshop and ASOS powerhouse bringing her design instinct to John Lewis, and it feels like exactly the right appointment at exactly the right time.
You might not know her name. But you most certainly know her work.
Those Topshop Saturdays when everything felt exciting and perfectly judged. The ASOS years when online shopping finally felt like it understood exactly what you wanted. The Whistles moment when your style had settled into something more effortless and grown-up.
That someone was Jacqui Markham.
For thirty years she has quietly been one of the most influential voices in British womenswear, always at our shoulder as our lives and our tastes evolved.
She started at Oasis after a First Class degree at Northumbria, moved through Karen Millen, then spent fourteen years at Topshop, rising to Global Design Director and single-handedly designing the Kate Moss collections. There’s a reason these pieces are in huge demand on Vinted. They are that good.
But what truly sets Jacqui apart is that she never chased trends for their own sake. She followed the woman. Through every chapter: the busy years, the experimental phases, the point when we wanted clothes that felt like the real us again.
And now she’s back. As John Lewis’s newly appointed Fashion Creative Director, leading creative direction across womenswear, menswear and childrenswear. For so many of us, this feels like the perfect full-circle moment. The designer who has understood us through every stage of our wardrobes has chosen to bring all that insight and experience to the place we already trust.
That instinct is what John Lewis has been quietly building towards. The current Rejina Pyo collaboration brings fluid silhouettes and a flattering 90s ease, pieces that move with you rather than against you. Amanda Wakeley’s exclusive capsule offers precision tailoring that doesn’t need to announce itself. An edit that includes Belstaff, Patagonia and Missoma speaks to a woman who knows exactly what she wants. The foundations are already there. Jacqui’s job is to take it further.
Rachel Morgans, John Lewis Director of Fashion, calls Jacqui’s appointment “a defining moment.” Jacqui herself described it as “a seminal moment in the long history of the Partnership” and added on LinkedIn: “Exciting times ahead. Can’t wait.”
After three decades of dressing us so well, she’s now shaping the future of fashion at John Lewis. For those of us who have shopped her designs over the years, this really does feel like we’ve won the fashion lottery. John Lewis has appointed a woman who has spent her entire career designing for the woman who shops at John Lewis. Someone who understands, instinctively, that style doesn’t stop at 40. That dressing well in your 50s isn’t about trying to look younger — it’s about knowing yourself well enough to look exactly like you. That quality, considered design and genuine relevance to the customer aren’t competing priorities. They’re the same priority.
John Lewis has landed an absolute catch. And honestly? So have we.
We couldn’t be more ready for it.
