LONDON — British department store John Lewis has named Jacqui Markham fashion creative director, where she’ll be focusing on own-brand labels across womenswear, menswear and childrenswear.

Markham joins from the British retail chain Whistles, where she served as creative director. She was previously global design director at Topshop and design director at Asos. 

She succeeds Queralt Ferrer, who has stepped down after four years at the store.

John Lewis said Markham’s appointment signals the next phase in its strategy to develop its own-brand fashion, “with clear creative direction, and continued investment behind it.” 

The store added that Markham brings “a strong track record of building distinctive, successful collections with a focus on design, quality and relevance for customers.” 

Rachel Morgans, director of fashion at John Lewis, said Markham was joining the retailer “at a defining moment for our fashion business. She brings a wealth of expertise and a proven ability to create exceptional design and will support our future creative vision.”

Markham said: “It feels like a seminal moment in the long history of [the store], and I cannot wait to get started to help shape that vision and bring our collective ideas to light.”

John Lewis has been working on multiple fronts in a bid to strengthen and differentiate its fashion offer.

Later this month it will launch the second John Lewis x Rejina Pyo collaboration, and a new 15-piece exclusive capsule collection from Amanda Wakeley. 

Those collections will complement the expanded lineup of new brands including Samsoe Samsoe, Mother, St. Agni, Patagonia, Belstaff, Missoma and Completedworks. 

The store said Markham’s appointment “comes alongside John Lewis’ continued investment in fashion, including upgrades to shops and digital, and the recent refurbishment of womenswear and menswear” at the Oxford Street flagship.

The retailer has also been ramping up its beauty offer. Last August, the store invested millions of pounds in upgrading its shop floors adding immersive, multisensory beauty halls across the U.K. at sites including Liverpool, Bluewater, Solihull and Cambridge.

John Lewis now offers more than 540 beauty counters, almost 70 dedicated treatment rooms, and more than 400 beauty services nationwide.

John Lewis has 36 shops and an omnichannel presence. It also has hospitality and retail partnerships including Benugo, Ori Cafe and Jamie Oliver’s Cookery School and café, as well as Waterstones bookshops and David Clulow Opticians.

In 2024, the business was granted a Royal Warrant as a supplier of household goods and furnishings to King Charles III.