Musician Jake Bugg serenaded show-gowers as they sat on Burberry’s velvet benches set up in a series of circles throughout its custom show space. At this point, chief creative Christopher Bailey had all eyes on him as he was the biggest designer to date to announce that he would be switching over to a see now/buy now show strategy. It’s just hours after Kering head Francois-Henri Pinault said his brands, including super hot Gucci, would not be making the jump.
How this shakes out in the next few months (and even years) will be interesting and industry-changing for sure, but in the meantime, everything on the Burberry runway is for sale—now. Which is good news for the girl who needs her snake-skin dusters, military coats and snug knit dresses for the final few weeks of winter.
Bailey mixed together all of his favourite motifs and some house standards. There were the men’s wear checks and plaids, the military codas, the street urchin styling (edge-cut hair and knit tights), British punk ankle boots and an assortment of cool outerwear to last for several winters.
The house debuted a new collection of bags too—the Patchwork, a small buckled shoulder style that picked up on the vibrancy and melange of colors worked into the clothes.
And if anyone thought Bailey would play it safe since the clothes and accessories have to be ready to go pronto, think again. Citrus knit coats played off complementary toned shimmery minis. Dresses were hand-beaded. Ankle boots were printed and buckled demonstratively. This wasn’t just a lineup of core cashmere sweaters and basic coats.
From: Harper’s BAZAAR US