Daniel Lee - Designer, Creative Director of Burberry

[tricotineacetat]

I know time has that capacity of making us romanticize everything but aren’t going to pretend that Bailey left Burberry on a high note.
The reality is that while the Milan years were great, there was a shift to a more casual attitude in HF that also troubled Burberry.

One of the challenge of Bailey the last few years of his tenure was to introduce a more modern and casual attitude for Burberry because precisely, that particular London look of skinny pants with derby shoes, printed shirts and good coats for men or belted dresses with trench coats for women didn’t felt fresh anymore.

I think Riccardo understood something about London, it multiculturalism and it street edge, that didn’t necessarily clicked with Burberry. But I think Lee understand Burberry and a British attitude. It’s quirky, it has attitude. He is a good designer and the right person for this, I’m really convinced. I think he understands something about the way people wants to dress and look in 2023. But those aren’t the only elements that will be relevant for the success of his Burberry.

While the arrival of streetwear might not have come in favor to Christopher Bailey's taste, it's debateable how many designers manage to seamlessly adapt to such shifts in direction... Shareholders might expect it but for a designer to flex their point-of-view to the point you cannot recognize them anymore is perhaps a price too highly paid. Perhaps a shift towards the quiet minimalism championed by The Row or Lemaire would have felt more in tune with Christopher Bailey's point-of-view rather than to end his tenure with a faux fux cape in pride colors.

That being said, I wonder how many of the current guard of designers (such as Glenn Martens, Demna Gvasalia and all the others who emerged during the 'streetwear' years) will last once the pendulum swings in another direction. They might just vanish much like a lot of designers from the generation before them went into obscurity.

 

[LadyJunon]

Burberry Beauty is returning:

 

[Lola701]

While the arrival of streetwear might not have come in favor to Christopher Bailey's taste, it's debateable how many designers manage to seamlessly adapt to such shifts in direction... Shareholders might expect it but for a designer to flex their point-of-view to the point you cannot recognize them anymore is perhaps a price too highly paid. Perhaps a shift towards the quiet minimalism championed by The Row or Lemaire would have felt more in tune with Christopher Bailey's point-of-view rather than to end his tenure with a faux fux cape in pride colors.

That being said, I wonder how many of the current guard of designers (such as Glenn Martens, Demna Gvasalia and all the others who emerged during the 'streetwear' years) will last once the pendulum swings in another direction. They might just vanish much like a lot of designers from the generation before them went into obscurity.

I don’t think minimalism à la Lemaire would have worked for Burberry. We are talking about niche brands after all..
But, Christopher Bailey was also influenced by the minimalism of that time. He played more with prints, particularly on shirts but he started to use muted colors, worked on more boxy shapes…
The shift to Streetwear was too drastic and didn’t felt natural for him.
And in a weird way, because he did not have the Prorsum, Brit and London lines, I feel like it was harder for him to have a more focused POV given that requirement.

That’s why I think that Lee is good. His approach is casual anyway…When he does a suit, a dress or more « Streetwear » pieces.

Riccardo’s clothes were maybe too ambitious and HF for a brand like Burberry.

Burberry is one of those houses where I think obviously commercial clothes aren’t bad…As long as they aren’t plastered with logos everywhere.

I think someone like Glenn Martins has more chance to have a long-lasting career than Demna. We have seen with his Gaultier that he can design more classic clothes in a way whereas, each Fashion week proves us the limits of Demna.

I think that Alessandro Michele leaving Gucci was the first signal. I think that Demna still has his fans and crowd but the general public has moved on. More than the return to quiet luxury, I think there’s a return to real clothes that can function in our day to day lives.

 

[tourbillions]

are we already replacing daniel lee? if we are... im vouching for sarah burton for burberry. Specially her menswear and i'd be interested to see how she will channel something a bit more light and quirky than mcqueen. Im sure she would do an amazing job.

 

[Lola701]

are we already replacing daniel lee? if we are... im vouching for sarah burton for burberry. Specially her menswear and i'd be interested to see how she will channel something a bit more light and quirky than mcqueen. Im sure she would do an amazing job.

I hope then nobody would complain about the prices and the preciousness of her work.

Burton is meant for Couture or a HF brand with maybe a more formal aesthetic.

It would be a waste to have her at Burberry.

Lee has probably a 3 years contract. Can we let him chill a second? lol.

 

[susseinmcswanny]

Burberry Beauty is returning:

I'm ready for the nuke

 

[tatouejeremie]

Burberry Warns on Fiscal 2024 Profit, Revenue Targets Due to Luxury Slowdown
Sales and profit growth began retreating in the second half of the year ended Sept. 30.

November 16, 2023, 2:39am

LONDON — Burberry warned that it might not meet its full-year revenue growth target for fiscal 2024, and that adjusted operating profit would be at the “lower end” of the consensus range due to the widespread slowdown in luxury demand.
The British brand, which released fiscal first-half results on Thursday, already began witnessing the impact of that slowdown in the second quarter, with sales growth in mainland China shrinking, and U.S. demand declining further.
The warning sent Burberry shares tumbling 9 percent to 15.82 pounds in late-morning trading, and dragged down other luxury stocks, too.
Burberry fell further during the day, and closed down 9.8 percent at 15.74 pounds on Thursday. Kering shares were down 2.7 percent at the close of trading while LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and Compagnie Financière Richemont both ended the day down 1.8 percent.

Although Burberry did not comment on current trading, chief financial officer Kate Ferry said the slowdown in mainland China has “extended” into the current quarter, although demand remains robust among Chinese tourists shopping abroad.
On Thursday, Burberry said that in the first half ended Sept. 30, revenue grew 4 percent at reported rates and 7 percent at constant rates to 1.4 billion pounds.
Growth was fuelled by double-digit gains in Asia Pacific and the EMEIA region, and strong sales of outerwear, trenchcoats and leather bags.
Those figures compare with revenue growth of 17 percent at actual rates and 19 percent at constant rates in Burberry’s first fiscal quarter.
In the first half, adjusted operating profit was down 6 percent to 223 million. At constant exchange, adjusted operating profit grew 1 percent. Reported profit for the period fell 18 percent to 158 million pounds.
Burberry’s chief executive officer Jonathan Akeroyd said that while the company has made “good progress” against its strategic goals, he noted that the macroeconomic environment has become more challenging.
Despite that, he said “we are confident in our strategy to realize our potential as the modern British luxury brand, and we remain committed to achieving our medium and long-term targets.”
The company added that if the weaker demand continues, it is “unlikely” to achieve its previously stated guidance of low-double-digit revenue growth for fiscal 2024, which ends in March.
If growth does slow, adjusted operating profit for year will be toward the “lower end” of the current consensus range of 552 million pounds to 668 million pounds, Burberry added.
For the full year, company added that it expects a reduced currency headwind of 110 million pounds on revenues, and around 60 million pounds on adjusted operating profit.
Burberry is not alone in suffering from the slowdown in demand due to rising interest rates and cost of living pressures worldwide, and consumers’ more conservative mindset.
Luxury purchasing is no longer a priority for middle-class, aspirational consumers who have been postponing spending due to multiple macroeconomic pressures.
Luxury groups LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Kering and Compagnie Financière Richemont, and brands such as Tod’s, have all witnessed strikingly similar trends in the second half of the calendar year.

They have reported tepid U.S. demand, shrinking sales in mainland China, and a strong purchasing appetite on the part of Chinese travelers in Asia.
On Thursday, Jefferies said Burberry’s first-half results “bring to a close a downbeat [third quarter] luxury reporting season,” and noted that Burberry, similar to its peers, has seen a “mixed start” to the current quarter.
At Burberry, the slowdown began to emerge in the second fiscal quarter, with sales falling short of analysts’ projections. Same-store sales were up 1 percent in the three-month period, compared with consensus projections of 4 percent.
In mainland China, comparable store sales rose 15 percent in the half, with all the growth coming from the first three months. In the second-quarter sales in the region fell 8 percent as spending shifted offshore, according to Burberry.
As a whole, the Chinese shopper cluster grew by 25 percent the three months to Sept. 30 driven by wealthy, traveling Chinese who have been splashing their cash in Japan (where the exchange rate is favorable) and in resorts such as Hong Kong and Macao.
The Americas region declined 9 percent in the first half, and 10 percent in the second quarter.
The EMEIA region, which takes in the Middle East, India and Africa, has been recovering due mainly to a pickup in U.S. and Asia Pacific tourism in Continental Europe. Comparable stores sales were up 14 percent in the half, while in the second quarter, that growth was 10 percent.
The U.K. is still lagging Continental Europe due to the repeal of the tax free program, which gives breaks to high-spending tourists.
As reported, Burberry and other high-end British brands and industry organizations have been lobbying to have tax-free shopping reinstated, and are hoping the U.K. government makes the change as part of its autumn budget, which is due to be released on Nov. 22.
In the first six months, outerwear comparable store sales grew 21 percent in the half, and 10 percent in the second quarter, driven by Heritage rainwear, Burberry said.
Leather goods comparable store sales grew 8 percent in the half and 3 percent in the second quarter, with bags, and especially the Vintage Check collection, showing the most growth.

Burberry said the new bag pillars launched at the end of the period have been gaining traction, particularly the Knight bag and Trench tote.
Ready-to-wear, excluding outerwear, was up 6 percent in the half with men’s up 6 percent, and women’s increasing 7 percent. Akeroyd said chief creative officer Daniel Lee’s debut runway collection has been on shop floors for six weeks, and it was too soon to talk about bestsellers and consumption trends.

wwd.com

 

[yslforever]

wwd.com

Not a surprise, we will be seeing more warnings soon.

 

[tatouejeremie]

Taking Stock of the Burberry Reboot
businessoffashion.com/opinions/luxury/taking-stock-of-the-burberry-reboot/

Imran Amed
ATHENS — On Thursday evening, as I was racing to the gate to catch my flight to Athens something caught my eye. A new Burberry store had opened on the main concourse of Heathrow Terminal 5. Next to the identikit luxury stores gleaming with marble and gloss, the Burberry store looked different with its stark minimalist interiors. More like a blank canvas than a traditional luxury store concept, it was developed by former chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci, along with the Italian architect Vincenzo De Cotiis.
But it is Tisci’s successor, Daniel Lee, who has now taken the creative reins and made the store design his own, layering on top his new brand identity for Burberry which was first introduced in February and is now increasingly visible across the brand’s advertising campaigns and retail network.
A major criticism of Riccardo Tisci’s Burberry was that he never really managed to channel Burberry’s Britishness. When his predecessor, Christopher Bailey, who hails from Yorkshire, first rebooted Burberry alongside CEO Angela Ahrendts and grew it into the UK’s largest luxury brand, a big part of the success was because he told authentic stories rooted in the brand’s British heritage.
Like Christopher, Daniel also hails from Yorkshire and even grew up near the Castleford factory where Burberry still manufactures its iconic trench coats. He even has family members who have worked in various Burberry factories in the past.

Daniel seemed to be perfectly positioned to boost Burberry’s fortunes and lift the brand into the true luxury category. Not only does he have British roots, he is a strong accessories designer with a proven track record, having already reinvigorated Bottega Veneta, another dusty heritage brand that was in need of a refresh, with a sense of modernity, personality and youthfulness.
But this week, when Burberry announced a dramatic slowdown in revenue growth from 18 percent last quarter to just one percent in Q2, and warned that it was unlikely to meet its annual revenue forecasts for 2024, its shares slumped by almost 10 percent.
So what’s going on? CEO Jonathan Akeroyd attributed the deceleration to a softness in the luxury market around the world, something that has also dimmed the fortunes of other major luxury players. Plus, we are only one year into Daniel’s creative re-vamp and his first collection only started arriving in stores in September, so are only partly reflected in the quarterly results reported this week.
But there is more to it than these factors. Beyond the headline earnings numbers, buried in the accompanying press release, is some interesting information that can help us understand how Daniel Lee’s new vision for Burberry is playing out, and whether Akeroyd’s strategyto make Burberry a £4 billion modern British luxury brand within the next 3 to 5 years is beginning to bear fruit.

CRITERIA 1: COHESIVE CREATIVE VISION

When Daniel introduced a distinctive shade of green to the Bottega brand, it became an instantly recognisable part of the brand’s identity that ran as a consistent thread connecting its collections, ad campaigns and retail stores. This was a big shift in direction when compared to the very understated vision of Bottega Veneta under Tomas Maier who had helmed the brand for 17 years.
At Burberry, Daniel has taken a similar approach, introducing a new signature blue colour and brand identity which feels distinctive in a luxury landscape full of sans serif logos. Each time I return to Heathrow from my travels, the Burberry ad campaigns in Terminal 5 baggage hall always strike me as representing a new idea of modern Britain, with a diverse cast of characters from across British culture and society.
The brand says its campaigns and activations are “recognisably Burberry,” telling “a coherent brand story,” and I agree. This is the part of the Burberry reset that we have had the most time to sit with, and just nine months later it feels cohesive and clear. Recent activations like the Burberry Streets campaign, created more organic conversation about the brand than I can recall in a very long time, even if not all of it was positive. What’s important is that brands feel part of the zeitgeist, and Burberry is starting to do this in a noticeable way.

CRITERIA 2: ESSENTIAL, MUST-HAVE ACCESSORIES

An essential part of the luxury megabrand formula is building a successful leather goods business, something that neither Christopher Bailey nor Riccardo Tisci really managed to do while they were at Burberry. During his tenure at Bottega Veneta, Daniel created a flurry of hugely successful, distinctive bags — the Pouch, the Cassette, the Jodie — all of which are still selling in Bottega stores today, a testament to the longevity of his designs.
Indeed, Daniel spoke at length about his intention to focus on accessories in a recent interview with BoF’s Tim Blanks. But in its Q2 earnings press release, Burberry reported that leather goods comparable store sales grew by 8 percent, driven by 14 percent growth in bags, which is better than the 1 percent revenue growth overall, but nowhere near the pace of growth that the brand will ultimately need to realise Akeroyd’s vision.
Daniel’s products have only been on the shop floor for six weeks, so it’s too early to have a decisive point of view on how well this is working. But on a recent visit to Burberry’s renovated flagship store on London’s Bond Street, I couldn’t see a bag design that can do for Burberry what the Cassette and Pouch did for Bottega. The strongest bag in the offering is the Knight bag, with its slouchy off-duty style and unique horse clasp hardware, which links back nicely to the equestrian knight motif revived in February 2023. But neither this nor the Rose Clutch or Chess Satchel seem to have the same kind of magic as Daniel’s designs at Bottega.

CRITERIA 3: LEVERAGING THE BURBERRY CHECK AND TRENCH COAT

Historically, the trench coat has been a pillar product for Burberry and so this must be part of any successful commercial and creative strategy for the brand. Indeed, for a business that was founded on the basis of protection from the weather, there is a much bigger opportunity here for Burberry overall, which is perhaps more naturally in line with Burberry’s heritage than bags and shoes.
Today the outerwear space in luxury is dominated by Moncler, which has done an outstanding job developing the category, but there is still room for Burberry to play here too, and early indicators are that the heritage rainwear category is performing well, with comparable store sales up 21 percent in the first half of fiscal 2024.
What’s missing is the creative innovation, which has been key to keeping the Moncler puffer jacket in the fashion conversation. The low-waisted trench coats in Daniel’s most recent show didn’t land. The silhouette looked awkward rather than cool, and would be hard for a more mainstream customer to adopt and buy into. Daniel has also leaned heavily on the check — and perhaps too heavily — on oversized ready-to-wear silhouettes that are not flattering.

It’s still early days at the new Burberry and we always need to give a CEO and designer the time to realise their vision. Still, one year in it’s fair to say that aside from the overall softness in the luxury market, the constituent pieces of Akeroyd and Lee’s Burberry revamp aren’t clicking together just yet. We’ll be looking for more progress on the product front in the coming year, as ultimately this brand revamp will need to get cash registers ringing too. The clock is ticking.

 

[tatouejeremie]

Fewer shoppers in Burberry stores complicate design overhaul.

The slowdown in the luxury market following a post-pandemic boom could not come at a worse time for Burberry, with designer Daniel Lee's first styles for the British label trickling into newly refurbished stores.
Executives cautioned on Thursday that they would struggle to meet Burberry's annual revenue forecast, pointing to a darkening macroeconomic climate across the globe and capping off a tumultuous reporting season for the sector.

Shoppers in the United States and Europe have grown cautious about splashing out on high-end purchases as the cost of living rises, while appetite in China has been deflated by a property crisis and record youth unemployment.

Burberry is in a "particularly difficult position," compared to peers, said analysts at JPMorgan, citing the difficulty of shifting the label's image upmarket when shoppers might be pickier about what they buy.
With fewer shoppers heading to Burberry stores, clinching a sale will be key.

"The challenge here is conversion," said Chief Executive Jonathan Akeroyd in a call with analysts, adding that the brand would have to work particularly hard on increasing the number of shoppers who make a purchase as the industry grapples with lower footfall. "That's really what we're focusing on," said Akeroyd.

For Burberry, the challenge has steepened.

The company is undergoing an aesthetic overhaul aimed at stoking interest in the brand with better quality, higher-priced products, such as the £2,890 ($3,582) medium-sized "Knight" bag.
It has been refurbishing stores at breakneck speed, opening more than one a week or 33 in the first half of the year in places like Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Omotesando in Tokyo, and Bond Street in London, amounting to nearly £89 million of investment.

Executives have also reduced the number of department stores where the brand is sold to focus on higher-end retailers, working with them to manage inventory to avoid a rush of discounts that could cheapen its image.

The label has filled its stores with new styles across a wider price range, including a renewed emphasis on its staple outerwear.

It has also seen a "nice shift" to accessories, both shoes and bags, said Akeroyd.
Lee's styles and a focus on the label's British roots mark a departure from previous turnaround efforts led by designer Riccardo Tisci, who exited in 2022 after less than five years.

Lee is credited with drawing younger shoppers to Kering-owned Italian label Bottega Veneta with fashion hits like soft, clutch handbags and quilted leather mules. At Burberry, he has applied colorful dandelion prints to garments and rolled out advertising campaigns with fuzzy ducklings.

His predecessor's new typeface and monogram have disappeared, while the Equestrian Knight logo banished by Tisci has returned, rendered in bright blue.

"We like what Burberry is doing with product and range architecture; however, the timing is not ideal," said analysts at RBC.

Former chief executive Marco Gobbetti focused on cost control, but increased competition in the sector has prompted Burberry's current leadership to ramp up investment, with rivals including Gucci-owner Kering and sector heavyweight LVMH also signaling their intentions to continue investing strongly in generating brand heat.

LVMH has also recently extended the contract of Louis Vuitton's womenswear designer Nicolas Ghesquiere, after already a decade in the job.

Burberry Chief Financial Officer Kate Ferry said the company was "absolutely committed to protecting all of the consumer-facing areas." "Alongside everyone else, you'd expect us to be careful where we can be but very much committed to marketing spend in particular," she added.

Burberry's costs increased 10% in the first half, and spending in the second half will be ramped up, executives said.

Its shares trade at just under 14 times forward earnings over the next 12 months, the lowest since 2009 and half the level of two years ago. Its PE ratio, widely used in financial markets to gauge the relative value of stocks, is the weakest in the luxury sector.

The end of the post-pandemic splurge that fueled the sector's soaring growth over the past three years has prompted investors to lower forecasts, even for larger players like LVMH that are considered better-equipped to weather the downturn.

"Negative sentiment will likely prevail for luxury turnaround stories for the next 6-12 months," investment bank Citi said.

reuters

 

[style_expert]

Oh dear! Well I'm not surprised, the timing and slowdown in the luxury goods sector is really not in their favor.
Ultimately it's more up to the CEO to navigate through these times. I think they absolutely need to stick with Lee for a while, the last thing they can use right now is another major change. If Lee can't bring them the buzz they need, I don't know who else could.

The kind of basic store overhaul based on the image we've seen looks like it was already done on a more limited budget compared to any LVMH / Kering brand. The pricing strategy will probably be adjusted too.
The question remains whether that's enough.

 

[Lola701]

A quick review of the pricing strategy is the only way to save what’s going on because I think in terms of creative direction, Burberry is on the right path. I think they probably have the best IG account in fashion now. It’s perfectly curated.
The problem that the CEO needs to understand is that Burberry is still a premium brand and not a luxury brand. It’s easy to re-write the story of a forgotten fashion house and reposition it. It’s much more difficult to do the same with an active and already successful brand given that they don’t have different lines to target one market.

Someone who has 3000£ to spend on a HF brand will probably have Burberry last on their list. Going to Burberry for a trench coat or a peacoat, yes. But spending that on a more seasonal, edgy piece…No. They can probably buy that elsewhere…

Lee offers them a voice in the fashion conversation but they aren’t competitive enough in the market they are trying to reach. The prices should have been raised gradually.
Why someone would spend on Burberry what they can spend on Vuitton, YSL or Gucci for a Bag? Come on!

Sometimes I think those suits lack common sense…

 

[gallianostan]

SSense sent out an eblast this morning spotlighting Burberry Fall 2023. The banner photo of Kit Butler in a trench coat is almost convincing, but when you scroll down to the clothes, well, let's just say I find it impossible to imagine Burberry by Daniel Lee recapturing the glory days of Bailey's Prorsum. The designs are nowhere close to compelling, it doesn't feel distinctive at all, and the things that do stick out (bird prints and slanted checks) are not desirable and won't be memorable in a good way. And that's before you get to the price point (figures in CAD) --

- $1200 for a 100% polyester long-sleeve t-shirt with an underwhelming macro swan print (made much uglier by 'THE WINDS OF CHANGE' in huge letters like some kind of Raf/Demna conceptual disaster)

- $2875 for a wool-polyester turtleneck with diagonal check -- the design isn't so bad, but the insubstantial knit and mediocre materials are embarrassing, and the price is nearly on par with Gabriela Hearst's flagship super-chunky hand-knit cashmere sweaters

- $970 for a t-shirt, this time with a doubled swan print that is simultaneously pretentious and horribly ugly due to the colour scheme of crimson red with a weird indigo tone (if they want to charge this much for a tee, couldn't they at least embroider something on it or slap on a leather appliqué or some rhinestones? It is not an exaggeration to say I have seen more complicated and luxurious t-shirt designs at Abercrombie and Club Monaco)

- $1600 for floral-patterned acrylic fleece lounge pants in same ugly purple + red, it looks exactly like something you'd see on a rack at Winners or in the discount bin at Mountain Equipment Co-op

View attachment 1239483

View attachment 1239484
Source for images: SSENSE <[email protected]> "Burberry FW23 Collection" (Oct 26, 2023, 8:23 AM)

$1200 for polyester is f*cking outrageous. how is that deemed acceptable?

 

[Thefrenchy]

A quick review of the pricing strategy is the only way to save what’s going on because I think in terms of creative direction, Burberry is on the right path. I think they probably have the best IG account in fashion now. It’s perfectly curated.
The problem that the CEO needs to understand is that Burberry is still a premium brand and not a luxury brand. It’s easy to re-write the story of a forgotten fashion house and reposition it. It’s much more difficult to do the same with an active and already successful brand given that they don’t have different lines to target one market.

Someone who has 3000£ to spend on a HF brand will probably have Burberry last on their list. Going to Burberry for a trench coat or a peacoat, yes. But spending that on a more seasonal, edgy piece…No. They can probably buy that elsewhere…

Lee offers them a voice in the fashion conversation but they aren’t competitive enough in the market they are trying to reach. The prices should have been raised gradually.
Why someone would spend on Burberry what they can spend on Vuitton, YSL or Gucci for a Bag? Come on!

Sometimes I think those suits lack common sense…

Couldn't agree more. The pricing strategy and their aspired positioning is wrong imo. Strengthen your brand in the premium segment, and become a provider of cool / edgy fashion to your client instead of wanting to be yet another regional Hermes. A lot of it is quite desirable when you're looking for pieces with a twist that are still wearable in daily life. But they become less desirable once you start telling yourself "it's a 4K Burberry coat though...".

Contrary to a lot of people on this forum ( ), I'm a fan of Lee's work. He has yet to wow me at Burberry but the man always has a vision for what he's doing so it'll take the time it needs, but it should get there eventually.

Disagree with you regarding their instagram account though. The curation is strong because it's super cohesive, but my god they do not need to shoot the entire product assortment. If I see one more damn still life of a boring shoe or bag... Who is it for? You only get show backstage or celeb imagery.

 

[jeanclaude]

The problem here aren´t the luxury slowdown nor the marketing...the problem here is that the clothes are ugly and expensive as hell!! Are they unable to face such a basic fact??

 

[Phuel]

^^^ More than basic and ugly, it’s more unbearably closer to childrenswear.

Looking at their site, it’s all so banal and gentrified; there’s no personality, no individuality, and not a sign of the label’s fabled ancestry— let alone anything looking luxurious and expensive. It’s very accessible Benetton of 2023 in terms of design-- at best. At worst, which is the majority of everything, the offerings are so dumpy and homely; even the trenchcoats look like moldy thrfitstore fines from ebay sellers, but with offensively jacked up price points. Lola mentioned that it’s the corporate suits running this brand, but Daniel is as much the epitome of a corporate suit masquerading as edgy designer by sprinkling in a few gimmicks to the outlet merch as anyone can get, so he’s as deplorable as they are, and public enemy #1 to high fashion, as far as I’m concerned.

Riccardo may have gotten lost-- or bored, along the way, but there was at least a semblance of a creative, individual soul somewhere in there amongst all the monogrammed merch that he was mnadated o march out in the shows. And Christopher absolutely lost it towards the end-- maybe as a desperate ploy to be more accessible, but the overall silhouette was unmistakably and still proudly Anglo-Saxon aristocracy. Burberry is now that nameless chain outlet grocery store that’s found in every corner of a new condo block, from city to suburb, just with marked up prices because it's in a posh building.

I still wear all my Christopher’s Burberry Prorsum coats, including a classic dufflecoat with the tailored shoulders. But now, all the signature hardware have been replaced with superior handmade Italian versions and real horn buttons from Germany, and the novacheck interior is covered with a bemberg lining. It’s Christopher’s Prorsum quality and luxury— with an absolutely sartorial flourish. I also own a Riccardo’s Burberry dufflecoat, and the quality and construction feels more mass-produced next to the Christopher’s Burberry one. Riccardo’s Givenchy— at least the menswear, was never known for impeccable construction and quality, unfortunately. Same can be said for my 1st fashion love, Helmut Lang. Now, Tom’s and Stefano’s YSL on the other hand… my God, the tailoring, construction and materials… Sadly, their level of craftsmanship is simply not the standard anymore. The golden age of high fashion has truly passed (... and I'm not holding my breath that's it's returning anytime soon). It’s why a lesser as Daniel Lee is ruling these outlet days.

 

[Nimsay]

Nicki Minaj wearing new Burb’. Shes even wearing the fur mules.

 

[lookatme]

His Burberry is such a flop so far.

Love it or hate it, at least he was able to build a sort of world at Bottega. A few seasons in and I, as an onlooker, have no idea what he is trying to say or where he is trying to go.

Burberry should be so much easier, but designers today are such overthinkers and underperformers. What would be so hard about sending out a collection of fabulous trenches, belted at the waist, over easy cashmere sweaters and turtlenecks, some plaid pencil skirts and some great leather boots on models like Liberty Ross? Do something charming like have the runway raining and all the girls are using nova check umbrellas. I don’t know…I can think of a million things that should be happening here…

And why does everything have to be so tricky? It’s like everything designers these days make is suffocating with unnecessary details and clunky proportions that make for ultimately very uncomfortable and awkward clothes. And no wonder they don’t sell. I hate his footwear and bags so far for Burberry. A furry mule? You’ve got to be kidding me. Is this 2010?

 

[LadyJunon]

And why does everything have to be so tricky? It’s like everything designers these days make is suffocating with unnecessary details and clunky proportions that make for ultimately very uncomfortable and awkward clothes. And no wonder they don’t sell. I hate his footwear and bags so far for Burberry. A furry mule? You’ve got to be kidding me. Is this 2010?

I think that this constant rise of tricky designs is due to the fact that the current industry uses trickiness as a metric for the designer's creative value. Of course, customers don't think the same way, which is why Hedi's Celine does so much better than Philo's Celine despite the constant hate it gets from critics.

 

[lookatme]

I think that this constant rise of tricky designs is due to the fact that the current industry uses trickiness as a metric for the designer's creative value. Of course, customers don't think the same way, which is why Hedi's Celine does so much better than Philo's Celine despite the constant hate it gets from critics.

Exactly. At the end of the day - regardless of how much disposable income someone has - they are far more likely to want to spend thousands on items that will last in their wardrobe. These gimmicky clothes are only meant for Instagram and influencers. It's not a mystery when these brands are struggling.

And that doesn't mean a designer shouldn't be making NOT creative clothes. Galliano and McQueen, for example, made "creative" clothes that stand the test of time and still look attractive on the wearer 20-30 years later.