The rain, a fitting backdrop for Burberry's pre-spring collection, sets the scene for a conversation with Daniel Lee, the brand's creative director. As the drizzle falls, Lee reflects on the collection's trans-seasonal nature: "On days like this, when you don't know what the weather's going to do, these are the kind of clothes you want to wear." His vision is one of "trans-seasonal, with a soft tactility," ensuring each piece "looks good on a hanger, worth the money."
Lee's designs blend coolly believable London styling with subtly tweaked country classics, all filtered through his intelligent approach to fashion and an unwavering eye for detail. Patchwork peacoats in contrasting tweeds, a beige-gold minimal collar on a cotton blouse, and a mixed herringbone tailored coat with matching flares stand out, imbued with a hip, vaguely London spirit. Lee reinterprets British tradition, pushing the boundaries of Savile Row restraint while maintaining a modern edge. A plain-seeming brown wool blazer embodies this approach, while a beige gabardine suit with a green tufty pinstripe evokes a sense of nature, perhaps inspired by King Charles's love of gardening.
While seemingly traditional, the collection is surprisingly lightweight, even in leather and suede. Lee explains: "Even though we're a British brand, predominantly we sell in hot places." Intergenerational relevance is another key aspect of Lee's approach. A soft-yellow diagonal-check georgette blouse with a double-layer bias-cut collar is a modern take on the pussy-bow blouse, a piece familiar to his mother and aunt. "I've kind of gone mad with lots of different colourways," he notes.
Each piece is designed to stand alone, justifying its usefulness and quality. But it's the way they're styled together that creates character, as exemplified by a cargo pant with a pointy mule, topped with a polished chestnut leather belted moto-jacket—a hint of 1990s Spice Girl flair. Lee also takes delight in embedding secret branding signals, deconstructing the Burberry Prorsum knight logo into shield shapes, horse bits, pennants, and chargers. The Knight bag, with its shield-shaped leather sides, embodies this subtle, asymmetric design.
Lee emphasizes the journey towards achieving this level of detail and control: "Over the last 18 months, we've been tasked with revolutionizing the whole product offer. This is collection number six, so I feel like it's fully there in terms of the brand and the detail."
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