Marks
M&S campaign features Helen Mirren; Monica Ali, Helen Allen, the British Journal of Nursing’s 2011 nurse of the year; and Katie Piper, the acid attack victim among others.

Dame Helen Mirren has been unveiled as one of the new faces of Mark and Spencer's autumn/winter 2013 womenswear collection.

The Oscar-winning actress and star of The Queen, Red 2 and Hitchcock, joins a roster of Tracey Emin, author Monica Ali, Zanzibar acid attack victim Katie Piper and the British Journal of Nursing's 2011 nurse of the year, Helen Allen, for a campaign designed to win back female customers.

"Meet Britain's Leading Ladies" shot by fashion photographer Annie Leibovitz, also features US Vogue creative director Grace Coddington and ballerina Darcey Bussell.

Supermodel Karen Elson, singers Ellie Goulding and Laura Mvula, and Save the Children CEO Jasmine Whitbread complete the mix.

Notably absent from the line-up is Twiggy, who has starred in M&S adverts for many years.

Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne, executive director for marketing and business development at M&S, said the campaign marked a "new and confident tone" for the brand.

"Annie was the perfect choice to shoot a campaign of this magnitude. Her unmistakable, signature style was exactly what we needed.

"Annie's photography has become synonymous with defining key moments in the history of brands over the years and, as such, we feel that this campaign is the ideal way to illustrate M&S's move into a new era."

Mirren, who won an Oscar for her role as leading actress in The Queen, described the campaign as like going to the "ultimate dinner party".

"As women pass the age of 45 it doesn't mean they're not interested in fashion any more," she said. "You don't have to start looking like a granny.

The campaign, which launches in September, will run across print, billboards and online - but does not include TV adverts.