In a short space of time, Amazon has wreaked havoc with retailers by flexing its online muscle. It has launched an onslaught of ebooks, drones and digital butlers, while its recent $13.7bn (£10.5bn) swoop on Whole Foods threatens to upend the grocery industry.

Now the online giant is gearing up to unleash a new weapon on the British fashion market in the form of velvet thigh-high boots, oversized trench coats and celestial-patterned dresses.

The move is yet another attempt to meet founder Jeff Bezos’s stated goal of becoming an online powerhouse with $200bn of annual sales. He has previously said that to do so Amazon has to “learn how to sell clothes and food”.