To receive the Vogue Business newsletter, sign up here.
Burberry may have been one of the last brands to show in London before crowds set off for Milan, but it had already drummed up plenty of buzz throughout the event with city-wide marketing initiatives — including a renaming of Bond Street tube station to “Burberry Street” — proving that there’s much brands can do beyond the runway to stay front of mind with consumers and press.
The big moment came on Monday afternoon when chief creative officer Daniel Lee staged his second show for the brand in a tent in North London’s Highbury Fields. For Spring/Summer 2024, Lee’s offering felt like less of an explosive big bang and more of a quiet but confident outing; the opening look was a black drop-waist belted coat — setting the agenda for what would be a collection of functional and utilitarian pieces. A focus on outerwear continued throughout, with varying interpretations of the trench from cropped to long and in solid colours like ivory or chain and hardware prints (which also appeared throughout the collection across blouses, dresses and bags).
Large metallic buckles featured on loafers and crossbody bags, while blue strawberries — teased days earlier by Burberry on its social media — were printed on tops, dresses and trousers, serving as some sort of identifier beyond the Equestrian Knight design, which Lee introduced in a rebranding prior to his debut show and featured prominently on a chunky black belt to close the show. Recognisable motifs, as seen at Diesel, Ferragamo and Ganni, have proven to resonate in fashion. Lee also continued his emphasis of the colour blue, including on the lips of some models, who walked to a soundtrack by British dance and electronic musician Dean Blunt.
The collection was “an exploration of lightness, sensuality, beauty and elegance”, where print is prominent, and there is “a sense of outdoor living”, according to show notes from the brand. It also embraces “the clichés of British fruits and English meadows”.
Lining up a star-studded front row was Anna Wintour, regional Vogue editors including Christine Centenera of Vogue Australia, Edward Enninful of British Vogue and Kullawit Laosuksri of Vogue Thailand; actors Jodie Comer, Bright, Jun Ji-hyun, Rachel Weisz, Jason Statham and his partner, model and entrepreneur Rosie Huntington-Whiteley; musicians Kano, Skepta, Kylie Minogue and Mabel; athletes Son Heung-min, Mo Farah and Ning Zetao; among others. Many of the show’s guests were dressed in full Burberry looks.
Burberry’s brand equity has been rising thanks to investment in creative marketing activations and increasing price points across its products. Burberry jumped four places to sixth place in the Spring/Summer 2023 edition of the Vogue Business Index, which assesses brands’ desirability, quality and relevance. CEO Jonathan Akeroyd’s ambitions are to take Burberry’s revenue to £5 billion in the long term, fuelled by a much bigger push in accessories, which currently account for 38 per cent of sales. Among the key styles from Lee’s SS24 collection were medium-sized quilted bags and strappy heeled sandals.
The reception so far
The SS24 show takes place as Lee’s debut collection arrives in stores. American department store chain Saks Fifth Avenue featured a Burberry takeover across its window displays alongside immersive visual installations at its New York flagship, which will run until the end of September. In Seoul, Burberry hosted its first pop-up featuring Lee’s designs at Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam; new global brand ambassador Danielle of the Korean girl group Newjeans attended the launch.
Saks’s chief merchandising officer Tracy Margolies called the takeover a “milestone moment” as Lee’s debut collection for Burberry “was one of the most anticipated launches of the year”. She adds: “Lee is a visionary and is fully tapped into what’s next. His fresh take on Burberry’s brand identity, matched with the house’s iconic heritage, is sure to bring many great fashion moments to come.”
Neiman Marcus’s buy of the AW23 collection is representative of the brand’s new direction, says Jodi Kahn, vice president of luxury fashion. “Our buy includes new pieces with the brand’s logo and their signature heritage check, which have been reinterpreted in new colourways. We have also bought into the accessories now donned with faux fur.” For the autumn, the retailer has a partnership with Burberry that will bring an exclusive visual installation to its Beverly Hills store in celebration of Lee’s first collection for the brand, she adds.
Over in Europe, Parisian luxury retailer Galeries Lafayette placed bets on “strong show looks” like the long brown trench with the green collar, new check styles, horse riding boots and the Rose and Knight bags, says buying and merchandising director Alix Morabito. “We are yet to gather the market and customer reaction, but Daniel brings spontaneity, a bold and authentic English feel with some off-the-wall humour,” Morabito notes, which can drive “strong desirability”.
Lee’s debut collection arrived at London’s Harrods a fortnight ago and has had a “strong” reaction from customers, according to director of buying for fashion Simon Longland. Harrods also offered its top clients the exclusive opportunity to shop the collection in a private preview prior to it dropping in stores elsewhere, which saw great success, he adds. “Burberry always performs its best when embracing its iconic British DNA, so Daniel’s unique eye for detail and fabrication combined with his coming home to the UK is destined to resonate seamlessly with our customers. The resurfacing of iconic, archival codes is always something that lands well.”
During Burberry’s first-quarter results in July, interim chief financial officer Ian Brimicombe told press and analysts that the AW23 collection has had “great reception so far” but declined to share more details about which categories were in demand or who was buying. The rollout is gradual, and Lee’s product is expected to account for 75 per cent of Burberry’s assortment by March 2024.
US-based Dana Telsey, CEO and chief research officer of Telsey Advisory Group, says she met with Burberry’s management in September as the brand continues its repositioning efforts in North America, which accounted for 24 per cent of total sales in 2023. She observes a new focus on details, including subtle product coding and the introduction of new core bag styles such as the Knight, Chess, Shield and Rose, which all carry higher price points. A medium version of the Knight bag costs $3,490. Previously, handbag prices ranged from $2,000 to $2,700, Telsey notes.
“Burberry is embracing a new chapter of evolution under Lee’s creative vision, refocused on its connection with British design, craft and culture while amplifying the brand through enhanced marketing and communications,” writes Telsey. She predicts that the newness, innovation and enhanced quality of Lee’s collections will drive increased engagement, particularly with new customers, marking “a shift from prior strategies that focused on curating the assortment to its existing customer base”.
Cross-channel investment
Also in July, Burberry reopened its 22,000-square-metre flagship on New Bond Street, which had been closed for two years of renovations. Stretching over three floors, the store features a minimal, open-plan space designed to spotlight new and elevated pieces. It also boasts a new VIP area. The New Bond Street location — which a growing number of luxury houses, including Kering-owned Balenciaga and Gucci, have moved to — is “one of London and the world’s premier luxury shopping destinations”, Akeroyd said at launch. He described the boutique as a “new home” that would unveil Lee’s pieces to local and international customers.
Dovetailing the flagship relaunch is a refreshed e-commerce website embodying the new brand identity. In the run-up to the show, there was a teaser video showing the Highbury Fields venue transition from day to night at the top of the homepage, alongside the Equestrian Knight motif. Across the site, there is a more editorial feel, with glossy images, videos and a section dedicated to beauty and fragrance — the latter featuring Mario Sorrenti’s photography of Emma Mackey in a new campaign for the Burberry Goddess fragrance.
The site is designed to be more playful and intuitive for customers to interact with. Through simple tweaks such as full-screen filters, signature products such as the brand’s heritage trench coats now take centre stage. “Featuring enhanced functionality and storytelling, and a visually rich aesthetic in line with our new identity, the site encourages our customers to better connect with our brand and discover the products they love with ease,” said Giorgio Belloli, chief digital, customer and innovation officer.
The Burberry Streets campaign will be rolled out across key cities worldwide, including Seoul, Shanghai and New York after debuting in London this week. Alongside Bond Street, Burberry took over Norman’s, a North London cafe known for its fry-ups, which was decorated in the brand’s signature blue check. During London Fashion Week, a travelling Norman’s food truck also made appearances in Central London’s Strand and West London’s Duke of York Square, as well as outside Burberry's show venue.
The Norman's tie-up drew criticism from some TikTok users for romanticising working-class culture. Broke Magazine’s video on the social platform of Burberry’s Norman takeover with the caption “a multi-million-pound brand acting poor for the aesthetic” has garnered over 55,200 likes and 869,400 views. Others defended Burberry, pointing out that Norman’s is a curated cafe rather than a traditional English greasy spoon. The reaction on Instagram was generally more positive, with users gushing over a photograph of acclaimed food personality Mary Berry visiting the cafe. Either way — as many brands have come to find — to be divisive is to build loyalty, and Burberry’s marketing stunt certainly drove conversation. (Burberry declined to comment on the reaction.)
The results of Burberry’s new creative steer will properly take hold in the second-half of the year, Brimicombe told press and analysts in July. “We’ve done a lot of preparation in the front half. We’ve kept the core collections going strong, and as you’ve seen in this quarter, we will be louder and prouder coming out from this point on. There’s a lot to look forward to.”
Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com.
More from this author:
China recovery boosts sales for Burberry, US remains a weak spot
Did Daniel Lee’s Burberry debut live up to expectations?
“Change is inevitable”: Daniel Lee debuts reimagined vision for Burberry
