As a show of imperial might Burberry’s show - which closed London Fashion Week last night - was a masterclass. The British super brand erected an enormous circus-like eight turreted tent in Victoria Park, complete with its knight-emblem flags flying from each peak. Vicky Park’s annual All Points East festival could but dream of such grandeur.
The fleet of VIPS - including Skepta in his custom racing green Rolls Royce - was quite the interruption to rush hour in Hackney with some locals - and Peta protesters - rushing the gates to try and get in. The front row included everyone from Olivia Coleman and Joanna Lumley to Lily Allen, Bukayo Saka, Barry Keoghan, Cara Delevingne, Lila Moss, Central Cee, Jourdan Dunn, Jonathan Bailey and Patsy Kensit.
The brand is looking for an uptick in its fortunes, having slashed its profit guidance in January with a 7.4% drop in its share value after a sluggish trading period. The man tasked with this is Daniel Lee, the Bradford born designer who was on his third outing for the brand since taking up the chief creative officer role in October 2022.
Into the dark came the hefty vocal of Amy Winehouse’s No Good and set the reference point of Britishness which Lee has successfully mined. The casting was on point, tapping into the fashion-faces of that indie sleaze late Noughties era, Agyness Deyn opened the show, Lily Donaldson and Lily Cole (in a skinny leather over the knee boot) both walked (Cole hasn’t been seen on a catwalk for years), as did Jean Campbell, Karen Elson, Lennon Gallagher and Naomi Campbell. Rivetingly, Maya Wigram, daughter of designer Phoebe Philo (whom Lee worked under when she was creative director of Céline) - last spotted at the ES magazine party on Friday night - also walked in the show.
Lee, who is 38, has finally hit a sweet spot where he seems at ease with this behemoth brand. Backstage after the show he hinted at getting to grips with his expansive role, saying that “The curse [and] also the beauty of the brand is that it appeals to such a broad spectrum of people. But in trying to please everyone [it] often ends up [with] you pleasing no one. As a designer you have to have a point of view and you have to create.
That [is something] I find very unique because it's not something I've experienced before. The challenge is really doing something that I think appeals to a wider audience. But at the same time, [you have to do] work that you are proud of and are pushing forwards with. You can’t make a simple trench forever, we have to move that on.”
He was deciphering, he explained, his cast of Burberry characters - everyone from “football fans to the royal family”. The result? He’s toned down the colours, ditched the ducks and tapped into the core of what Burberry should do - make a bloody good coat.
Trenches and field jackets in dusky greys and khaki greens had an army-surplus feel; duffel jackets came with oversized toggles and chunky hoods; there were fabulous moss-green shearlings and oversized fleece gilets. A ruffle edged trench was worn with a leopard print silk headscarf and sunglasses which felt more Jackie O than Queen-ish.
Lustworthy grungy Lochcarron and Donegal wool plaid maxi kilts have definite cult appeal; wide slung trousers had a punkish edge zipped open straight down the front, "Being a London brand, there's always a sense of grit" he said.
Suiting was in muted pinstripes, worn with deep V neck sweaters and bare chests. He threw in good red carpet options too, draped crushed velvet dresses, flirty lemon ruffled slips and a strapless feathered sparkling confection modelled by Naomi Campbell as she closed the show. There was swagger, depth and cool here, and it felt that Mr Lee was very much back in the room. He deserves for it to pay off.
The key looks from the Burberry Winter 2024 collection:
