Meet the designers hoping to style the high street on ITV’s M&S: Dress The Nation

"Ready, thready, go!"

M&S: Dress the Nation AJ Odudu and Vernon Kay

by Arabella Horspool |
Published on

Major retailer Marks and Spencer is known for its delicious food that trends all over social media, but they also make fantastic clothes including gorgeous M&S dresses. Now, they're on the hunt for a new junior fashion designer in a brand new TV show called, M&S: Dress The Nation.

The ITV show sees amateur designers competing for the opportunity to become a highly-coveted junior fashion designer for the high street giant.

Presented by AJ Ododu (who co-presents Big Brother) and Vernon Kay (who has his own BBC Radio 2 show), the contestants compete in various challenges and will be tested on their design, collaboration skills, commerciality and problem-solving.

Speaking on why she was drawn to the show, AJ said: "I love fashion, and I just know how difficult it is to get into the industry that I am in, and I know that fashion is no different, so I was really drawn to the prize. It is a life-changing prize, and it is amazing!

"I was also really excited to work with Vernon and love that it is sponsored by M&S. I literally used to work in M&S on the high street of Blackburn town centre, so I am having a real full circle moment with all of those things combined!"

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"I think it’s inspiring to watch people commit to a goal when they’ve set themselves a target. I think we learn from this show that certain people set out with a plan and stuck with it, and certain people set out with a plan and stepped away from it or diverted from it, which kind of tripped me up." Vernon says.

"I think it’s a lesson in life really. Once you get your teeth into something just go for it! Go with your gut feeling and instinct. Because we always say first impressions last and I think that a lot of our designers were like yes, I am going to go for it! They were fully committed to designing what they initially thought would be a success and it was, and other people diverted and it became a mess. It was difficult for them to commit 100% as they were unsure, so I think that is the lesson from this."

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Who are the judges on M&S: Dress The Nation?

Throughout the episodes, they will be judged by a panel of senior leaders at the company, as well as celebrity guests and designers, such as Spice Girl Mel B and model and actress Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

When is M&S: Dress The Nation on TV?

M&S: Dress The Nation starts on ITV1 and ITVX on Tuesday 17th September at 8pm.

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Arabella Horspool is a Commercial Content Writer for Yours at Bauer Media. She's a bookworm who is passionate about TV, film and theatre. She enjoys cooking, scrapbooking, playing board games and spending time with her pet dogs, tortoise and chickens.

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