Fashion Bytes: Checking In with Burberry at London Fashion Week

Photos by Indigital Images

Welcome to Fashion Bytes, a cheat sheet for your favorite runway designers. From style inspirations to behind-the-scenes scoops, here’s everything worth knowing at London Fashion Week Spring 2018.

The brand: Burberry

The history: One of the oldest fashion brands in Great Britain, Burberry began in 1856 when a 21-year-old craftsman named Thomas Burberry set up an outerwear shop in Hampshire. By 1879, he’d invented garbadine, a light and waterproof material that made his coats warmer, dryer and better suited to rainy British weather. But it wasn’t until World War I that Burberry’s most famous invention, the trench coat, was born. Though originally given to military personnel, it became a favorite among British civilians, and turned Burberry into an iconic brand for the UK, and later, the world.

The designer: Christopher Bailey has helmed Burberry since 2001 after jobs at Donna Karan and Gucci. Under his tenure, tartan has become cool, shearling has become chic, and digital fashion shows have become the norm. He’s also responsible for introducing the world to Cara Delevingne, casting the British movie star as a model in 2011. At the time, she had just turned 18.

The show: Held in a historic three-story courthouse, the Burberry show was a floor-to-ceiling extravaganza with 80 looks, winding rows of mismatched chairs, a gleaming chandelier, a photo exhibit of British life curated by Bailey and Alasdair McLellan, and famous models like Adwoa Aboah and Eden Clark. Clothes were heavy on plaid, with Burberry’s famous signature print showing up as a hat, a coat, a bag and even a turtleneck. And yes, there were trench coats–some even featured drawings and doodles from Burberry’s design team that covered various parts of the brand’s famous khaki.

The f-row: Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell were the biggest showstoppers, while Iris Law (daughter of Jude Law), Selah Marley (daughter of Lauryn Hill) and Lennon Gallagher (son of Liam Gallagher) all came, too. And Kaia and Presley Gerber (children of Cindy Crawford) hit the runway. Delevingne was also front row, wearing red plaid pants and a black leather jacket that mirrored the looks on the runway.

The verdict: We’ll never wish for winter, but these snuggly, super-cool clothes will make the cold so much more fun. Plus, who doesn’t want a Burberry baseball cap for off-duty flash?

SHOP: Burberry

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