There’s no denying that M&S has some fantastic fashion finds at the moment, and its M&S Animal Print Faux Fur Trim Funnel Neck Coat is quickly becoming one of the season’s most talked-about pieces. Its all over the Tiki Tok & now on Vinted for triple the origin price. With its soft leopard print, cropped silhouette, funnel neck and faux-fur cuffs, it’s easy to see why this jacket has caught everyone’s attention.
The sandy-toned animal print feels softer and more wearable than some bolder leopard patterns, while the faux-fur trim adds a little luxury to an otherwise simple shape. It’s the kind of high-street piece that can instantly make an outfit feel more interesting, whether you style it with jeans and boots or throw it over a simple knit and tailored trousers.
But while I can appreciate a good jacket as much as anyone, I can’t help asking a bigger question: do we really need to buy a new viral jacket every single year?
It feels as though every season, a different brand releases a jacket that suddenly becomes the must-have item. One year, it’s a suede bomber; the next, it’s a barn jacket, a leopard-print coat or a faux-fur-trimmed design. Social media gets behind it, everyone starts talking about it, and before long, it feels as though we all need to own one.
Then, almost as quickly as the excitement begins, another viral piece comes along and takes its place.
That’s the part of the trend cycle I find worth thinking about. A jacket might be everywhere one autumn, but by the following year, the same social media buzz may have moved on to something completely different. The jacket itself might still be perfectly wearable, but the pressure to buy the next big thing can make us feel as though what we already own is no longer enough.
And that’s where I think we need to change the conversation.
We don’t need a new viral jacket every time a brand releases one. We need clothes that work for our wardrobes, suit our personal style and make us feel good long after the initial excitement has faded.
There’s nothing wrong with loving the M&S jacket or buying it because you genuinely adore the design. In fact, animal print, a well-cut cropped jacket and a touch of faux fur can all have a place in a timeless wardrobe. The key is to look beyond the fact that it’s trending and ask yourself whether you would still wear it if nobody were talking about it online.
Would you reach for it next autumn? Does it work with the clothes you already own? Can you picture yourself wearing it in different ways for several years? If the answer is yes, then it could be a worthwhile addition to your wardrobe.
But if you’re only tempted because it’s selling fast, appearing all over your social media feed or being labelled the next viral must-have, perhaps it’s worth pausing before you buy.
Fashion should be about discovering pieces we love, not constantly chasing the next item that everyone else seems to want. Some of the best wardrobe investments are the pieces we quietly wear on repeat, rather than the ones that generate the most excitement for a few weeks.
So, while the M&S Animal Print Faux Fur Trim Funnel Neck Jacket might be one of this season’s standout high-street finds, I think the bigger story is this: we don’t need to keep buying into every viral fashion moment to have a stylish wardrobe.
Sometimes, the most fashionable thing we can do is wear what we already own, buy less impulsively and choose pieces that will still feel right long after the trend has moved on.
