Michelle

Small is beautiful as Per Una goes petite
By Hilary Alexander, Fashion Director

Per Una, the successful collection created by the retail entrepreneur George Davies for Marks & Spencer, has a new motto - smaller is better.

The Per Una range was inspired by Italian luxury labels

To celebrate its sixth anniversary, Mr Davies has created Per Una Petite for women who are 5ft 3in and under.

The collection will be launched in September and the specially scaled-down clothes will come in sizes eight to 18.

From autumn the entire Per Una collection will take on a more sophisticated and expensive flavour. Inspired by Italy, from where it takes its name, the collection is strongly influenced by Italian luxury labels such as Prada, Fendi, Missoni and MaxMara.

British designer brands such as Burberry, Luella Bartley and Matthew Williamson have provided additional inspiration.

The collection is divided into colour themes of black and white, caramel, teal, chocolate, orange and purple.

Fake furs, jewel-embellished knits, Pop Art separates, sexy sweater dresses, velvet-trimmed coats and tailored, wide-leg trouser suits are intended for daytime wear, while gothic ruffles can come out after dark.

Key pieces include a belted, faux-chinchilla short coat for £99; an orange, cable-knit "sloppy joe" jumper dress for £69.50; a black, polka-dot prom dress for £89.50; and a purple printed chiffon tunic with glass bead neckline for £55.

Per Una accounts for 3.5 per cent of the UK womenswear market, which is valued at £550 million a year.