by The Burberry C-suite can’t be the most optimistic place to be right now. The fashion house, once considered the “ne plus ultra” of British luxury, has recently been dogged by a series of shocking news stories about its decline. In the past few weeks alone, it has dropped out of the FTSE 100 for the first time since 2009 with shares falling for 15 years. In November, the company is expected to report half-year losses.
It’s arguably one of the worst scenarios facing any luxury fashion business in the world and it’s a scary step forward for Joshua Schulman, who was recently appointed CEO following the earlier resignation of Jonathan Akeroyd in the summer.
Schulman hails from mid-market leather goods label Coach, in itself a suggestion that the label known for its trench coats could be on the verge of a major change of strategy – a Burberry “Knight” bag currently retails for around £1,890 throwing it against more desirable styles. with the likes of Loewe and Saint Laurent. In contrast, coaches are around £300.
And so in the most British of ways, Burberry’s chief creative officer, Bradford-born Daniel Lee, continues his efforts to create outstanding pieces that will keep shoppers coming back. On Monday, he presented his Spring/Summer 2025 collection, at the National Theater transformed by Gary Hume, one of the YBAs, who reimagined his installation “Bays”, first shown at the East Country show Yard at Docklands i. 1990, by hanging huge turquoise tarpaulins with collage cutouts around the space.
The collection was full of pieces designed to tick every British box, with references to the gabardine trench coats created by Thomas Burberry in 1879, the weather, equestrian style, Savile Row and country pursuits. Lee is always careful not to go too literal with these nods to the culture he aims to represent, which may be the easy way out. Yet so many other labels are going full Britannia at the moment – Miu Miu, where sales have soared by 93 per cent, released the Balmoral collection last week. Instead, as he described it backstage after the show, the dresses, shorts and jackets and all the gabardine practicality of the trench coat had “the brightness and summer weather”. “They’re things that don’t feel too precious, pieces you can wear from day to night,” Lee explained.
Coats were naturally the hero items and the range was impressive, from lightweight, effortless trench versions to shorter, belted versions and oversized parkas with a weathered look – ideal for Oasis concert goers next summer. Patsy Kensit, ex-wife of Liam Ó Gallchóir, was incidentally on the front row.
Lee chooses to accept a Burberry check that was on the way, too. It was dressed up boldly in short trench coats for men and coordinating pale tops but not as straight as the set for women. There were subtle cues as well as belts and bag dressing. “I really like the check,” Lee said. “We’ve tried to translate it into new colors and textures. The check is a really loud original so it’s nice to explore more muted colorways for people who don’t want to scream Burberry right away,” he said.
The Briton was a little more shameless in the accessories, where a new saddle bag was called the Cotswolds, hoping that every member of the elite in the money-making area will enjoy it. Burberry flooded its opening series with Brits of all stripes, from model David Gandy to young royal Lady Amelia Windsor, socialite Emma Weymouth, Marchioness of Bath, Poppy Delevingne, Olympians Keely Hodgkinson and Katarina Johnson-Thompson and presenter TV Miquita Oliver. (sporting a checked kilt and a bag that featured the iconic Daniella Westbrook who dogged Burberry for so long). Jerry Hall was also there, glamor personified in a bottle green trench with his daughter Elizabeth Jagger in a mini check.
Anna Wintour also sat in the front row, swapping the Kamala Harris scarf she’s been wearing recently for a loud Burberry check, perhaps she felt it was a reason she needed as much support as she did. the Democrats. A PETA activist hit the catwalk in a dress reading “Animals Are Not Fabric”, but, at this point, that’s probably the least of Burberry’s worries.
There are always rumors in the fashion world about a change of creative director, especially now with so many big vacancies, but Lee has put himself at the heart of Burberry’s turnaround plans. “We’ve been working together for two months now,” he said of his successful partnership with Schulman. “I feel American optimism from him, I enjoy his enthusiasm and his positivity.
“Back in the day, Burberry was led by an American CEO and a British designer,” he said, referring to the 2000/2010 era when Yorkshireman Christopher Bailey and Angela Ahrendts took Burberry out of its chav doldrums into global design. and business proposal.
“We want the fashion show to feel like a true vision,” continued Lee. “Now we have to find clever ways to take the checks and coats and turn them into something relevant in the store.” Is this show enough to solidify the turnaround? Time will tell, but if any label is well-placed to capitalize on British style right now in all its glorious forms, it should be Burberry.
More looks from the day…
