M&S microchip to warn on fashion

STORES group Marks & Spencer is working on a range of 'smart' clothes that will let you know if a garment you are trying on will be a sartorial disaster. The warning would be sounded by a chip inserted into dresses or shirts. It would scan your other clothes to see if they matched. If not, an audible alarm would alert you to your mistake.

The chip could also be used as an alarm for other hazards such as when clothes are put in the washing machine at too high a temperature. M&S is also looking at applying the same technology to some of its food lines so staff are warned when products are past their sell-by date.

M&S's newly promoted chief executive Roger Holmes, who formally steps up to the role next week, said he wants to push back the boundaries of technology at the store chain which is probably better known for its conservatism. He plans to invest heavily in microchips to help mark out M&S from other High Street retailers in a competitive market.

In an interview with The Times he said: 'I really want to grasp the technological advances. As the cost of microchips comes down, you can put them in food trays and in clothing.' He added: 'All these things were felt relatively recently to be a very, very long way off, but it has now got to the point where we need to trial and develop some of these things.'