The ushering in of a newly appointed Creative Director often brings with it a redesign of an entire brand. Creative Directors look to depart from their predecessors’ work and make a mark on the house with immediate effect. At the famed fashion house Burberry, Daniel Lee has done just that, bringing the “winds of change” to the storied label, and departing from Riccardo Tisci’s beige-tinged tenure. The result was everything we had come to expect from Lee – bursts of colour, hats, and footwear.
A couple of weeks ago, Lee redesigned the Burberry logo, moving away from the minimalist one of the past few years and reviving one of the brand’s historic logos. The move was a sign that Lee was going to bring about change while studying the brand’s storied past. The collection he produced last night was much the same. Lee brought his colourful, brand-reviving outlook, that worked magic at Bottega Venetta, to Burberry. Burberry’s FW 23 collection saw the logo featured on dresses between historic check motifs. The checks were not those of its recent past, instead, Lee changed the print into large-scale illusions and wrapped it all over wool duffle coats, trousers, body-fitted tops, kilts, and other accessories. In its illustrious 170 years of existence, Burberry has not seen this much colour. Beige departed, and in its place came pairings of purple and green, pink, and orange, and burgundy and white. While he works to rebrand the famed house, Lee is also working towards honouring the brand’s heritage. His debut collection opened with two trench coats in the brand’s famed green hues (Lee and the colour green again), complete with shearling collars, belts, and epaulettes.
The collection also saw a bright yellow duck print make its first appearance. “I find it very British,” he said. “It makes me think of the park and Burberry is an outdoors brand associated with rain and protection. And the brand is about functionality.”
Lee also brought an extravaganza of trimmings to the collection. Dresses were created from multi-coloured feathers that also featured breastplates on tops. Faux fur is featured on hoods, bags, and shoes.
Burberry had been missing an iconic bag. Lee knows the department well, revealing numerous bags in his time at Bottega Veneta, and he gave the audience a couple to choose from. They came in the form of evening purses complete in leather and faux fur with dangling metals. The designer also sent a few smaller bags that featured the “b” logo down the runway, along with an offering of large duffels and totes.
Accessories continued with footwear. Boots came in a multitude of variations, while heels were covered in shearling, faux fur, and suede.
Lee’s debut collection was a masterstroke. At Bottega Veneta the designer produced hit collections, one after another, never missing a beat. His debut collection at Burberry was a continuation of this as he looks to bring Burberry into the 2020s while retaining the brand’s historic imprint.
