Burberry’s Tisci says the new collection is “the most Burber

The chief creative officer, days after launching a Supreme collab, says after three years at the UK’s largest luxury company, it’s play time.

It was back to London for Burberry — but not London Fashion Week. And, it was back to the physical show format for the first time in two years, with a collection that twisted and played with its heritage trench coat and brought a dramatic new approach to evening wear with voluminous sculptural gowns and sweeping dresses in dandelion yellow organza.

Burberry’s Tisci says new collection is “the most Burberry, the most me”

Chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci is ready for his moment, as the company readies for a new era. Incoming CEO Jonathan Akeroyd will join from Versace next week following the departure of Marco Gobbetti last summer. At the same time, the cloud of the Russian war and the Covid-19 pandemic linger.

“This collection is the most Burberry, the most me,” an ebullient Tisci said after the collection, wearing a black fitted shirt with the renewed Equestrian Knight design, a nod to the heritage of Burberry he is finally at home with. The models powered through the darkly lit Central Hall Westminster, a stone’s throw from Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, stepping up on to formally set dinner tables, crowded with press and buyers, while an orchestra played. It was Britishness to the core, but with Tisci’s signature twist and naughtiness.

Burberry has long been the biggest drawcard for London Fashion Week, but with a London schedule built on emerging designers, this year the brand showed off-calendar and notably close to this weekend’s Bafta Awards. Burberry still lures the press and buyer numbers, and a celebrity cast from Adam Driver, who appears in its fragrance campaign, to British favorites of Tisci such as Kate Moss, rapper Blondey McCoy, and DJ and drag queen Jodie Harsh. Tisci said the collection was shown off-schedule because that’s when it was ready.

Tisci has, in partnership with Gobbetti, worked to build up the £2.3 billion contemporary British brand into a true luxury player. The end of the partnership with Gobbetti following his exit to Salvatore Ferragamo means there is more change coming. The move initially prompted suggestions Tisci may leave, but for now, he has stayed on and will be there for Akeroyd when he joins next week.

“It takes time when you come to work for a company that is so powerful and so big and represents so much a country. It takes time to (find the) identity, especially a country like England,” Tisci said. “It took me three years to really digest what I can find at Burberry and what I find in England as a style,” which he references from punk girls and skinheads in a “potpourri” mix with the elegance of the aristocracy. Men including David Bowie, who changed menswear and the English history of breaking down boundaries, are all inspirations.

It was the womenswear that was most notable at the show. Waxed cotton coats were worn over black stretch-lambskin bodysuits and worn with a new platform-heeled boot. Masculine boxy blazers in ink green check juxtaposed with feminine pleated wool skirts.

The brand has been pushing heavily into accessories and handbags with a new Catherine shape, and underweight category versus luxury rivals. However, the collection suggests womenswear, and elegant occasion wear at that (currently 28 percent of the business), is next on the agenda.

“Burberry is a big company, to move things and to change things took me some time. Because it’s not a fashion company — it’s becoming one. They called me to bring us to luxury, to bring fashion up and now we are luxury, we are fashion. And now, we have to play.” Perhaps his work is complete.

Tisci is certainly happy. A collaboration with Supreme launched a day earlier and drew huge queues across the US, Paris, and London, and has added to the coolness factor that Tisci has brought. The collection was something he said was always coming, since his days working at Comme des Garçons with its pioneering partnership with Nike nearly 20 years ago, and which he started at Burberry when he lured the “queen” Vivienne Westwood for a collaboration. However, it is today’s collection he is clearly most pleased with.

#Burberry’s Tisci says the new collection is “the most Burber

Burberry’s Tisci says the new collection is “the most Burber

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