John Lewis is adding 21 new third-party fashion brands across its women's, men's and kidswear portfolio in time for the AW23 season.

The cohort of new names will launch online and in-stores as early as August, with brands including Vivere, Olivia Rubin and Sister Jane, according to Retail Gazette & Drapers.

John Lewis will be the first retailer to stock Vivere, which was launched earlier this month by The Radius Group founder Damian Hopkins and fashion designer Savannah Miller.

The collection aims to deliver "affordable, high-quality, modern wardrobe staples" to shoppers.

The John Lewis AW23 offering will also include an exclusive capsule collection from New York-based womenswear brand Batsheva designed in partnership with Laura Ashley.

The new additions will sit alongside John Lewis's existing in-house fashion brands, which include its main line John Lewis range, its value-driven offering as well as a host of other familiar names.

Also this week, Sharon White, John Lewis chairwoman, cautioned that criminals have a "licence to shoplift" following a rise in cases spurred by the cost-of-living crisis. She called for better protection from threats and abuse for store employees in England after a change to the law in Scotland.

Shoplifting had surged 26%, according to recent research by the British Retail Consortium which found more than 850 incidents of violence and abuse towards shop workers are recorded every day.

White said: " It's a crisis that is hiding in plain sight," she told the BBC.