Daniel Lee’s debut for Burberry was the most anticipated moment of the season. Preluded by a logo redesign – featuring a serif font! – a teaser campaign shot by Tyrone Lebon and the usual disappearance of the brand’s Instagram grid, all the fever and talk throughout London Fashion Week centred on what was in store for us in a post-Riccardo Tisci Burberry.
The invite featured an audio clip from the musician John Glacier, an address south of the Thames, in Kennington Park, where the brand had erected a tent – designed by Lee – that inspired by Burberry’s outdoorsy heritage, and an interior primed for cosiness; hot toddys, warm water bottles and Burberry check blankets welcomed the guests, who formed a cross section of contemporary British cultural life – from Stormzy to Son Heung-Min to Vanessa Redgrave, Martine Rose to Grace Wales Bonner, Obongjayar to Shygirl. Which seemed to say that Burberry is for everyone, equally a part of the country’s visual lexicon for grime stars, footballers, the best young designers, the most exciting new musicians, and doyennes of the acting world.
But how do you translate a brand’s cultural ubiquity into a collection of garments? How do you make that history into something modern, wearable, covetable? Daniel didn’t lean heavily into that history though, instead setting out his stall for something more 2023: big accessories, slouchy silhouettes, luxurious outwear, a viral sense of humour.
So there were no beige trenches on show. In fact no beige at all. The two opening looks were the closest we came to those quintessential Burberry staples, floor-length in darkest green with emerald faux fur collars, accessorised with a hot water bottle clutched closely to the chest. That famous check was exploded, repurposed into prints in bright yellows, royal purples, countryside burgundies. It serves as a reminder that Daniel was a masterful colourist at Bottega – that ubiquitous parrot green! – as well as a stellar accessories hit-maker; remember the plastic puddle boots and blown up intreccio bags.
In his new role, however, he lent more heavily on silhouette, shape and print, although one would imagine those aforementioned hot water bottles will become quickly covetable, as will the duck motif that ran throughout the collection, notably in a cute, childlike, knitted cap, and as a print on skirts and tops. Elsewhere one highlight was the rose print, hinted at in Tyrone’s preview images, but here they were dark, gothic, romantic, a little Factory Records in that relationship between the post-industrial and the rave.
There were references to the deconstructed, backwards trenches of Miguel Adrover, a hint of Lee’s time at Céline under Phoebe Philo in the elevated leather goods, and the spiky glamour of Westwood and the archive of Christopher Bailey, who was in attendance too and apparently consulted on the collection. It felt very British with its cosy, slightly mismatched eccentricity. There was also a lot to digest here, a sense of Daniel setting out everything at once, and it’ll be exciting to see in which direction he develops as he gets further stuck into his work at the house.
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Images via Spotlight