Wrap up warm with Burberry at the closing show of London Fashion Week
Wrap up warm with Burberry at the closing show of London Fashion Week
British winters have never seemed so stylish in Daniel Lee’s ready to wear collection for Burberry.
Creative director Daniel Lee keeps his focus on opulent outerwear for Burberry's Autumn/Winter London Fashion Week show. With tailored trenches and the backdrop of jazz, the only correct pairing with this collection would be sipping a martini while snapping back at Daniel Craig in a witty but seductive manner. As a heritage brand, Burberry still remains an emblematic legacy for London Fashion Week's 40th anniversary.
The mood is set with a flickering streetlight in the lowly lit East London's Victoria Park. A colossal circus tent was erected in the middle of the park just for this show, and the setting emphasises the moss greens and tree bark browns of the collection. The aura is mysterious, and you feel like you are part of an old-school spy film. This is accentuated by the plethora of coats Daniel Lee offers us. A collection of gender fluid styles; teddy bear, trench, parkas, bombers, and wool vests, are donned by the models. Layering is a crucial aspect of this collection, and my only complaint would be that they didn't take any off! It is clear that outwear was the main focus, but it would have been more interesting to see the creations underneath the different coats, as the tiny pieces of outfits poking out underneath definitely whetted my appetite.
The colour is monotone, and as Burberry upholds itself as a hallmark of British fashion, they emphasise quiet luxury, accompanied by their famous burberry pattern and a multitude of buttons. The collection endorses pleated skirts, as seen on by guest Lily Allen, and v-neck, long-sleeve low-cut tops on many of the male models. Lee adapts the multi-use of the famous Burberry scarf by creating dresses from the scarf itself and incorporating them into large puffers. Activist and actress Lily Cole appears down the runway in an oversized black puffer and a cherry red and black tartan scarf, almost swallowing her. Another standout creation by Lee is the tartan, black, and tan work trousers, which have been tailored with a zip along the front of each leg. This zip widens the pants and also gives a sultry flash of skin on the runway.
The moody colour scheme, accompanied by sunglasses and head scarves, gives a retro feel to the collection—classic but transcendent. Burberry is known for its accessories, so it is only expected for us to see bags within this collection. Burberry is so over the tiny bag trend. Instead, they focus on usability, with overnight duffels and over-the-shoulder leather bags with their famous logo attached. Tartan spatters the collection in an understated fashion; patterns cover work trousers, bags, and scarves without overwhelmingly screaming, ‘I’m wearing Burberry’.
The bags in this collection, along with some of the coats, do include fur, but activists should not fret! Burberry has been fur-free since 2018, only utilising fake fur and adhering to London Fashion Week's ban on real fur. This has been an apparent issue in recent years, and creative director Daniel Lee has made sure fake fur will soon disappear from all collections, although that likelihood is very rare given how popular it is and how effortlessly it accompanies Burberry’s style.
Autumn/Winter is never complete without a boot, and these boots are made for walking, stomping, and destroying your enemies. Chunky knee-high boots with a thick wedge heel, with an added sprinkle of British flavour from the silver belt buckles on the toes of the boots, Another piece in the collection: a take on the traditional Inuit knee-high boot, baggy with ties around the calf and flat-footed. The wearability of this boot is much weaker than the rest of the shoes in this collection, as there is something so classic about a knee-high boot paired with a skirt or a trench coat that this option doesn't seem as appealing.
Burberry has managed to bring us not only a wearable collection but something high-fashion at the same time. Daniel Lee is three seasons into his tenure as creative director and is in desperate need of generating sales. As Burberry's shares plunged after a huge loss of forecasted profits over the Christmas period, the question on everyone’s lips will be: Is this enough to turn fortunes for a struggling brand?
The only part of the collection that doesn't seem to be at home is the women's dresses. Sparkly with frills and bejewelled, in yellow and gold and draped in a 1920s style, that does not emphasise the female form. The excessive frills on the cuffs of the dresses appear gaudy and lack practicality. The only dress that made you forget all the rest is the one worn by legacy supermodel Naomi Campbell. She was strapless in a deep olive green dress covered in sparkly appliqué frills, which looked like raindrops hanging off her body as it caught the light whilst she walked the runway. Envisioning dew across moss on a winter morning was spectacular to watch. The collection was an apt finale for London Fashion Week, emulating Britishness in every way possible.
