In just three seasons at Burberry, Riccardo Tisci has totally remade this grand old British house in his own image. Across the 110 looks of his SS20 collection he pushed and pushed at the codes of the house — the trench coats and the checks and this iconic sense of Britishness — and created a space within that just for himself to inhabit. This pumped masculinity and soft femininity, this space where the streetwise and the elegant can cohabit.
His reinvention of the house all came summed up in that opening look — modelled by Rianne Van Rompaey — a graceful skirt, jacket and cardigan in a shimmer of grey, beige and white. He’s made the womenswear at Burberry feel European, a little bourgeois in a very understatedly sexy way.
Many of the women’s looks this season explored a similar territory. The colour palette firmly rooted in the luxuriousness of deep greys and pristine whites and expensive beiges. These were uncomplicated, wearable, wantable clothes, given a Tiscian twist. Trenches morphed into scarves, a knitted polo become a cardigan, trench coat belts refigured themselves on suit jackets, and suit jackets entwined themselves around trenches. The menswear came simple yet decorative, jewelled and laced, or instead with one eye on the luxury streetwear market Tisci helped define during his decade at Givenchy.
‘My first year at Burberry was about understanding and refining the new codification for the house,” Riccardo explained in a statement. “With that foundation in place, I feel ready to start exploring what’s at the heart of this incredible brand… [It’s] a collection inspired by our past and dedicated to our future. It’s the evolution of our Burberry kingdom.’ And that Burberry kingdom, under Riccardo’s stewardship, is only set to grow.
Credits
Photography Mitchell Sams