John Lewis unveiled its biggest-ever fashion collaboration as it prepared to roll out a 44-piece Rixo collection across its store estate.

The vintage-inspired range will launch on October 22 across all John Lewis fashion stores and online, with prices starting at £65.

The collection spans dresses, knitwear, blouses, jackets, skirts, scarves, footwear and bags, combining Rixo’s signature designs with new shapes and patterns created exclusively for the department store.

It forms part of John Lewis’s efforts to strengthen its premium fashion offer and introduce British design brands to a wider customer base.

The collaboration also marks the first time John Lewis has used a design from its archive in a fashion tie-up.

An exclusive floral print, inspired by a block-printed textile dating from 1849, will appear across two dresses, a blouse, skirt and scarf. The retailer’s archive holds around 30,000 textile designs dating back to 1799.

Rixo co-founder Orlagh McCloskey said: “We feel incredibly proud to have created something that reaches a wider audience than our London stores.”

She added that the collection had drawn on John Lewis’s heritage while retaining Rixo’s identity.

John Lewis fashion director Rachel Morgans said: “Rixo is an iconic British brand adored by so many, much like John Lewis, so it felt natural to create something special together.”

The collection’s centrepiece will be the Vesper, a full-length dress featuring cap sleeves, a ruffle neckline and the archive-inspired floral print.

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