Burberry Introduces “Covid-core” With Their New Staple Handwarmers.
Two months before the event, fans of Burberry were teased with an alluring idea of potential with Daniel Lee taking place as creative Director. The announcement of the return of the old Burberry logo created a buzz as to how Lee was going to modernize and reintroduce the brand to the new coming audience of consumers.
Vogue’s “The Runthrough” podcast went so far as to proclaim the show as the “most anticipated show of the weekend.” A lot of eyes were on this collection to see what Lee came up with, and where Burberry's change of course would take us. This show potentially laid out the grounds for Lee’s future at Burberry, and Burberry’s future itself. And well, the reviews are mixed. But here’s mine.
To kick things off, the runway seemed to be set up in a foggy, dark lit tight space that gave - Slytherin common room - and genuinely looked uncomfortable for the audience. It reminded me of when I worked at a haunted house and the goal was to not see anything.
If I’ve learned anything in fashion school is that It's hard to do plaid without the garment starting to look like pajamas. The collection appeared too noisy and uncoordinated with no direction as to who the clothes were for.
Several outfits gave off - college student wearing their school colors heading to a game.
Another character I saw frequently was - the guy who hangs out in the ski lodge in his jammies… but threw on his coat.
The evening wear for women was a spinoff with delicate silhouettes, but with one model wearing a duck hat, followed by another model in a gown lost me there. The duck hat seemed to be a grab for a trending hashtag moment, #duckhatburberry.
The repetition of the patterns from jacket, hat, turtleneck, scarf, leggings etc completely oversaturated the intimate details in the garments. It appeared that they made too much inventory for the season and were trying to cover all of their assets, drowning each individual garment with the other. Large chunky bags that looked like pillowcases covered the details I wanted to get a good look at.
One model was just wearing a blanket like a cape.
A blanket. Like a cape….
Now, this show was something, but what was Burberry up to? Was the uncoordinated parade of college students on purpose? Or was the entire show a cash grab? I want to hope so as the show seemed to be more for macro-influencers then dedicated lovers of fashion.
One fan wrote
I thought the whole point of bringing Daniel Lee in was to bring back the high end fashion that speaks to our heritage?
How does this relate to Shackleton? To the Yorkshire mills running for generations producing trench coats? To our patented tartan?
Burberry is so far from its competitors now.. such false hope..
But another wrote
Why are y'all expecting classic from Daniel Lee? He literally changed Bottega Veneta from this classic old -rich brand vision of Tomas Maier to a Gen Z fave. Yes, he worked under Phoebe Philo's Celine but he used his training there with his own vision. This is his vision for Burberry. It's not like Burberry is gonna stop selling their classic trench coats and suits. The runway outfits will have to be something to keep the brand in everyone's lips. That's how fashion has become.
The hand warmers did not feel high fashion to me, but rather gave off an influencer that gets a sponsorship deal and needs to squeeze the product in their Instagram post. I see those and I think of being sick in bed with Covid. Are we trying to fantasize sickness now? If I saw someone walking around with one of those I'd ask why they weren't at home under the covers. But I do see the handwarmers as being an easy sale to the lower class who won’t be able to afford a four figure handbag but would want their hands on something Burberry.
But, Is that all that Burberry is? Lee had the opportunity to give us a history lesson on one of London’s classics. Instead it felt like he was chasing down tik tok trends and fast fashion cash grabs. Most of the collection I do not see trending past a few seasons. People don’t want to go to Burberry for things they can find in Nordstrom Rack. People want to go to Burberry for the timeless, historical “old money” aesthetic of old England! You know, War! Famine! Plague! Stealing artifacts from other countries and not giving them back! But in trench coats and well tailored pantsuits kind of way…
For Lee’s image, this show and its connection to his name was a flop, but one fashion critic brought up a good point. Could it have flopped because it’s a British heritage brand with corporate management that has strong ideas about what should be done creatively? Looking at it from a consumer mindset, the money grabs were there from the duck hat to the hand warmers. Tisci, the designer for Burberry prior to Lee, seemed to struggle to get Burberry off of their feet and into the modern day fashion scene. If two fantastic designers are unable to get the brand up and running again, maybe the problem isn’t the designers but the brand itself. But that doesn’t change Lee’s name that’s attached to this collection.
Lee is a brilliant man, I’d encourage a less is more mindset, and a good research on the deep roots of Burberry for inspiration for the brands next collection.