What could be more British than standing in a muddy tent as the sun sets on a cool end-of-summer evening? This was the scene at Burberry’s show in London on Monday — a headline event that always closes the city’s fashion week.
While the mud was fake and the surrounding fields were actually Kensington Palace Gardens, the brand was channeling one of Britain’s greatest cultural offerings, the festival, in a night designed to celebrate both music and fashion.
And there was certainly cause for celebration for the heritage label. Earlier that day, the company rejoined the FTSE 100 index, which brings together 100 of the most valuable companies on the London Stock Exchange, one year after it dropped off the list during a particularly challenging financial period for the brand.
The event was a chance for Burberry to put its best foot forward, shaking off the troubles it has been facing amid a global luxury market slowdown.
Not long after legendary performer Elton John was ushered in through a more discreet entrance the show began, tracked by music from the late Ozzy Osbourne’s Black Sabbath.
Models revealed a range of music-adjacent designs from Mod-style skinny suits to a 60s-era fringed jacket and leather pants. Raincoats, always a must at any British music festival, were plentiful and several crocheted mini dresses also featured, styled with boots, skinny scarves and the occasional parka. The layered collection seemed to offer an option, whatever the weather.
Burberry’s chief creative officer Daniel Lee got a few laughs from a small group of journalists backstage when we explained he and the team had tasked themselves with weatherproofing as many fabrics as possible, including denim and woven raffia. “OK, Burberry is about waterproofing,” he said. “What else can we waterproof other than a trench coat?”
The show was Lee’s sixth for the brand and third for its new CEO Joshua Schulman. The American business leader, who has held roles at Coach, Bergdorf Goodman and Jimmy Choo, joined the company last summer with a clear turnaround mission. He has since been vocal about his strategy, which involves price adjustments and refocusing on brand staples, such as its classic trench coats and other outerwear essentials, to better position the nearly 170-year-old brand as a symbol of timeless British style, in contrast perhaps to other more trend-setting European luxury labels.
On the night’s theme, Lee said he thought that when music and fashion come together they form a strong culture worth celebrating.
The best of British culture certainly came out to support, with national acting treasures Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders, supermodels Naomi Campell and Twiggy and former footballer Ian Wright all seated on the front row. Anna Wintour was there, too, paired with US tennis star Jack Draper. British singers Olivia Dean and Raye were among the new generation of performers in attendance.
While the venue’s canvas tent ceiling was painted with an expansive partly cloudy sky, the real sky outside was in fact the clearest of blues — a good omen for the future of Burberry?
Scroll to see all the stars who turned out for the event.