BEAUTY: Clothing--Burberry

It's been a while since I last posted a full Burberry collection--2014 to be exact, here. But Burberry creative director Christopher Bailey moved on from the house in 2017 and in 2018, Riccardo Tisci (formerly at Givenchy...see past collections here) became CCO of the brand. While I did post a video for his FW '20-'21 collection here, this current Spring Summer '22 collection at Paris Fashion Week feels like his first true collection for Burberry, as himself.

But having said that, it seems like each creative director must pay homage to the classic Burberry trench coat at some point in some form. They must kiss the ring as it were, and for this collection, Tisci opens with a ripped up, deconstructed trench and moves into new-for-Burberry territory from there. We enter a harsh desert world of workwear and protectivewear featuring biomorphic prints and cut-outs. These outfits seem like they are combat-ready. In fact, they have a bit of a Road Warrior feel to them but without the recycled, patchwork punk aesthetic--these minimalistic uniforms are slick, merciless, cold-blooded in their singular purpose. I also flash on another film reference, this one "Dune," whether the Lynch version or the upcoming Villeneuve version...some pieces of this collection seem like they are clothing the Fremen would wear, to protect themselves from the harsh Arakis climate. Taken as a whole, the collection itself feels harsh. And of course I can't help but leave the sci-fi film references behind and think about our reality right now...and how this might be the necessary clothing of the future for a planet swiftly sliding toward environmental catastrophe.

https://www.burberry.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Burberry

For London Fashion Week, Burberry presented a curious FW '21-'22 menswear collection which included kilts/skirts and some head-tilting, subtle symbology that looks like it comes from initiation rits of secret order traditions like the Masons. Indeed, the film of the collection felt a bit like watching one of Matthew Barney's CREMASTER films (and that is a compliment--I am a huge Matthew Barney fan and saw the entire CREMASTER cycle at the Guggenheim years ago).

But Burberry creative director Riccardo Tisci has a more "innocent" statement which seems totally incomplete. Maybe he is playing like Mrs. Prada and being deliberately coy about the true inspiration for the collection.

"The collection gently challenges and subtly reinvents traditions, inviting freedom of expression. Tailoring has a sense of twisted classicism, whilst quintessential house codes – the trench coat and Burberry beige – are evolved. Details and decoration evoke the notion of ceremony through badges and adornments – symbolising community and friendship, codes of belonging. 'For my first Burberry menswear-focused collection, I wanted to celebrate the freedom of expression. Enclosed indoors, I dreamt of the outdoors and its beauty, fuelled by the thought of the creativity that comes when we are together.'"

https://www.burberry.com/