Burberry FW23
10-word show review: A clever balance of reinterpreting traditions through a youthful lens.
Designer: Daniel Lee
Location: St Agnes Place, Kennington Park
The vision: It’s a field day at Burberry as Daniel Lee, the newly appointed creative director, brought an air of youthfulness to the storied house. The quintessentially Brit archetypes from urban nomads and chavs to street punks have never looked this cool as the signature house plaids now come washed in sprightly cobalt (quite possibly the It colour come fall), royal purple, mauve, crimson and forest green. There is an ease to the silhouettes but the highlight of the evening came from the tongue-in-cheek British humour that aims at the absurdity of wildfowling. From a fully feathered trench that looked like a giant feather duster making its way down the runway to that one duck beanie that brought a few laughs across the room mid-way through the show. It definitely showed a side of Lee that was perhaps not seen in his previous role at Bottega Veneta.
The vibe: The show space was built from the ground up at the heart of Kennington Park and from within the dark walls—a maze-like seating arrangement where pillows, blankets and checked hot toddies brought a sense of ease to the otherwise menacing set as eerie sounds of water droplets and scratchy old records filled the room.
Signature silhouettes: Relaxed proportions ruled the runway as the classic trench gets a dropped shoulder update (Look 1) while slouchy pants and boxy coats are cleverly balanced out with chunky boots (Look 14) and faux fur sandals (Look 22). Domineering prints ranged from the classic Burberry check to a polarised rose motif (Look 47) that looked almost like a romantic camouflaged swirl, which dominated the final section of the show. Needless to say, the highlight of the evening went to the inverted duck print (Look 24) that gave the collection just that right jolt of irony.
What to shop from the collection: A Burberry show without its signature trench coat would not be a Burberry show at all and this season, it comes updated with a plush lapel and cut in an almost blanket-like proportion (Look 16) while the grungy sweatshirt that reads “The Winds of Change” splashed across the chest definitely gave an interesting edge to the collection (Look 13). Meanwhile, if there were to be an absolute toss between the prints presented this evening, we encourage you to go for the inverted duck motif—all because it is kooky, unexpected and not to mention, a whole load of fun (Look 24).
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Look 1, Burberry FW23
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Look 13, Burberry FW23
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Look 14, Burberry FW23
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Look 16, Burberry FW23
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Look 17, Burberry FW23
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Look 23, Burberry FW23
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Look 24, Burberry FW23
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Look 37, Burberry FW23
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Look 45, Burberry FW23
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Look 48, Burberry FW23
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