Next’s previously flagged premium fashion platform, dubbed Seasons, launched Thursday with a move further upmarket than the fashion retailer/e-tailer has gone before.

Offering a curated selection of luxury brands to a Millennial target market, the seasons.co.uk offer includes labels that are mainly not available on its regular Next website such as Marc Jacobs, Coach, Ganni, Joseph, Rixo, By Malene Birger, Completed Works, Nanushka, Rotate, Joseph, Agolde, Sporty & Rich, Sea NY, Citizens of Humanity, Paul Smith, and Veja.

The company cited research showing that a huge majority of women outside of London feel under-served by the luxury sector. And given the slick online operation Next already has in place for its eponymous website, it’s clear that launching this premium version means it will be able to deliver more aspirational fashion efficiently and at speed to those women.

The new operation is being headed by brand director of Seasons Jade Taylor who’s been running the company’s third-party business for the past eight years and who’s a Next veteran of two decades’ standing.

She’s also been working with luxury brand consultant Emma Ilori on the branding and creative feel.

Taylor said: “With a focus on investment-worthy pieces and high-quality service, we believe Seasons will reach a customer who has until now been overlooked in the UK. We are looking forward to helping that customer cut through the noise of today’s fast moving trends and guiding them with an edit we know they’ll love, so that they can get on with living their lives in style.”

The launch comes as other more mass-market online fashion retailers, including Very, Zalando and ASOS, have boosted their aspirational offer having found strong demand for higher-end fashion.

Next already has 6 million UK customers and another 2 million abroad, so within those numbers there’s clearly a group of more aspirational shoppers already visiting its sites. Add to that new customers who may be drawn in by the new launch and the potential is undeniably huge.

And given how Next has reinvented itself over the years and moved successfully into new and unexpected areas, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see it one day move further upmarket with a debut in the true luxury arena.

It has the logistics expertise, the seamless website that can deliver super-fast and — importantly — process refunds at speed. As sites like Matches close down and other luxury e-tail pioneers such as Net-A-Porter and Farfetch become part of a wider sector consolidation trend, if high-end brands see Next making a success of Seasons, who knows what the future will hold?