Burberry’s New Collection Modeled By Employees

By: Valeria Ramos

In past articles, we’ve covered how designers are adapting to the challenges of COVID-19. Many are turning to digital presentations and others, like Jacquemus, are adjusting traditional runway shows to meet social distancing criteria.

For Riccardo Tisci’s latest Burberry collection, a location or studio photoshoot was impossible due to the U.K.’s social distancing guidelines. The solution was to have his Spring/Summer 2021 collection modeled by the company’s employees, right outside their London front doors.

In creating this collection, Tisci was inspired by Burberry’s iconic heritage and England’s mesmerizing landscapes.

“I wanted to draw upon the familiar, the things that bring us comfort and strength. I returned to what first inspired me in the Burberry heritage house codes, like the check, iconic stripes, and unicorn emblems, but revisited them with a new perspective, incorporating elements of both sophistication and street through the lens of the outdoors,” Tisci said. “England has some of the most beautiful antique gardens, so I really wanted to weave roses as a print throughout the collection.”

Burberry’s employee-modeled lookbook gives a glimpse at the coming of a new age in fashion, one ruled by a community that is rethinking industry norms.

The new collection features classic Burberry outerwear with a graphic twist. Relaxed tailoring, check drawcord shorts, straight-leg trousers, and delicate rose prints are just a few standouts from the collection.

In stamping a classic trench with Burberry’s block letter logo, Tisci adds a streetwear element to the classic English fashion house.

Logo-stamped pieces like Tisci’s trench have come and gone in fashion. Think of Off White’s industrial logo belt circa 2017 or Dior’s ‘We Should All Be Feminists’ tees. One minute, worn by every influencer and street styler, the next, abandoned for the next must-have accessory.

While many of Tisci’s new pieces are indeed timeless and effortlessly cool, the question is, how long will the logo craze last before the trendier pieces from this collection inevitably go out of style?