Daniel Lee - Designer, Creative Director of Burberry

[90sfan]

Huess he’s leaving after the show… to Jil

 

[Xone]

I bought the first 3 issues so ever since I feel like I must have the complete collection.

i have those feelings sometimes...it is hard to me to stop have a collection...haha

 

[Mathewthew]

But I saw somewhere on TFS that Jim sander already signed with someone else…. And we will see

 

[LadyJunon]

But I saw somewhere on TFS that Jim sander already signed with someone else…. And we will see

Jim Sander, my favourite fashion brand.

 

[Deleted member 116957]

JIM SANDER BY HEDI SLIMANE

 

[Xone]

Jim Sander, my favourite fashion brand.

Jimmy Sander would be better...lol

 

[FashioNarrating]

Well, !f he's not going to JiM Sander, I hope there is a possibility of him taking over Loewe. His designs (both at BV and Burberry) are much more convincing than what Proenza Schouler have been putting out for years, and if LVMH wants Loewe to go streamlined with some spunk and strong leather goods after Jonathan leaves, they better take someone who actually worked for Céline with Phoebe + made Bottega a major fashion player after Maier left. It'd also be their chance to compete with Chanel in yet another way now that they got Blazy.

 

[Thefrenchy]

Jil is Bellotti, already signed.

Daniel Lee would have been great at Loewe but those PS boys are on it...

He's going to end up at Moncler or something... There's nothing left...

 

[FashioNarrating]

Jil is Bellotti, already signed.

Daniel Lee would have been great at Loewe but those PS boys are on it...

He's going to end up at Moncler or something... There's nothing left...

Picking PS at this point is/would be (I'm still hoping someone else comes through) SUCH a weird move from LVMH, the boys haven't had a genuinely interesting collection or even just a hit item for years and the things they have been doing since they returned from Paris - which wasn't a big success for them either - have been so derivative of many designers occupying the post-Céline realm of fashion. Cate Holstein would lowkey make more sense nowadays.

 

[Thefrenchy]

^ To be honest I cannot explain this decision, and nor can my industry friends... We're going to enter an era of super random CD choices... That lady at Bottega, Proenza boys at Loewe, Bally guy at Jil, that other lady at CK...

 

[perhydrol]

It’s not THAT random to hire PS if we consider it in the context of LVMH’s expansion in the US. I still don’t think they’d be capable of sustaining the same level of excitement around the brand, and it doesn’t really make sense from a creative standpoint. However, that was also the logic behind giving Louis Vuitton to Marc Jacobs in the late ’90s. Still, I wish LVMH snatched Daniel.

 

[FashioNarrating]

It’s not THAT random to hire PS if we consider it in the context of LVMH’s expansion in the US. I still don’t think they’d be capable of sustaining the same level of excitement around the brand, and it doesn’t really make sense from a creative standpoint. However, that was also the logic behind giving Louis Vuitton to Marc Jacobs in the late ’90s. Still, I wish LVMH snatched Daniel.

LVMH's expansion plans are certainly a capital factor there, but even with that in mind, picking those two now is rather peculiar. Marc was still a relatively young talent when he started doing Vuitton, whose rtw didn't even exist up until then. Meanwhile Loewe is one of the top clothing brands at the moment, and they plan on giving the creative reigns to a duo that has smudged their own signature(s) during their second decade in the industry by doing washed-out versions of their old stuff or things other designers are doing. I'm not sure naming them CDs of LVMH's currently most relevant fashion brand will pay off, in America or elsewhere.. the same way Wang for Balenciaga or Gabriela Hearst for Chloé didn't pay off.

 

[Wombat]

That report is hilarious! Nothing about what they are doing now with this new CEO is "balancing heritage and innovation" (as they keep highlighting in the report). What they are doing is basically Michael-Kors-izing the brand to be very commercial and lack any authority whatsoever in the fashion landscape, erasing years of Lee's hard work and brand repositioning efforts.

So let me get this straight: Burberry now wants to push the outerwear AKA. the trench coat, and the check scarf every single season and move away from Daniel's vision. How exactly is that going to work? If anything it's just going to corner the brand and force them to rely too heavily on basically two categories.

It makes no sense.

Their strength is in Daniel Lee and that is the only reason why they are even relevant at this point. Take away a respected Artistic Director and Burberry is not any better than a Kate Spade or Tory Burch or Calvin Klein.

And for goodness sake, the pricing strategy is still a problem. They are selling jackets at the same price point of Gucci and Prada! Have these people completely lost their minds?

Daniel's work, although certainly appealing to fashion-forward folks, did not sell.

Burberry has never been a "fashion-forward" brand - it was always commercial, especially during Bailey's era where even the Prorsum line played it relatively safe with the house codes (e.g. trench coats and check patterns). It isn't a coincidence that Burberry was most successful during this period of being "commercial"... Akeroyd's delusion in pushing this "fashion-forward" vision clearly alienated the core customers that kept Burberry thriving.

Daniel's vision was not a fit for the commercial nature of Burberry. Yes, he was a strength for Bottega but that was a brand focused on bags and shoes at all times. It was a bag and shoe brand first, then ready-to-wear was secondary to that - that is why he did so well there. Daniel was the wrong fit for Burberry, because he was unable to retain their core customer whilst attempting to Burberry's brand authority into fashion-forward bags and shoes. To claim that he is the only reason that Burberry is still relevant is a large misstatement given the core customers (aka the only group that really matters) are slowly leaving the brand. The numbers back this up - and Schulman's appointment was to reverse the trend and make Burberry appealing to everyone, not just the fashion-forward crowd who tend to be the vocal minority (most of whom ironically would've never bought Burberry anyway).

His "expertise" in bags and shoes was wasted at Burberry - the Burberry customer was never going to buy a Rocking Horse bag when they could have bought a very similar bag from a desirable brand for slightly more money, due to Akeroyd's ridiculous pricing decisions... Akeroyd and Daniel focusing on leather goods and shoes was a huge mistake and it showed in the losses Burberry accumulated during this time - 20% drop in group revenue and a net LOSS for the first time in years, with sales dropping in South Asia Pacific by 38% (!!!).

The brand itself has always been "commercial" - Akeroyd's misinformed attempt at this brand repositioning was never going to work due to Burberry's wide-ranging appeal. It wasn't like Schulman took over a super niche and fashion-forward brand and made it commercial. He simply returned the brand to what it was.

 

[Kennnnn]

Roberto Menichetti designed Prorsum in the late 90s, and it was a critical success. It was very niche, quite experimental and I believe it was never sold in the Burberry store, only in selected multi-label retailers. The fabrics were especially wonderful. But it didn't interfere with the core Burberry product at all. It was very small and probably didn't make any money, but it gave Burberry a creative voice in fashion. That was probably the intention. This approach is actually quite Japanese.

But it was a very different time in fashion, when there was something very exquisite about wearing creative, modern clothes from an established, old brand. A little like Margiela at Hermès, which was roughly contemporaneous. You could still buy the core product in store (trenches, scarves etc.), but the creative stuff was harder to find.

Christopher Bailey's Prorsum was entirely different - much more accessible and to me at least, not very interesting. Bailey had a much bigger role in reshaping Burberry, but I think Prorsum lost much of its creative allure.

The problem with Daniel Lee isn't just the prices. It is also the expectation that his Prorsum should shape the entire Burberry brand. This in itself is not impossible, but Lee is not the right one for the job.

 

[Deleted member 164735]

^ To be honest I cannot explain this decision, and nor can my industry friends... We're going to enter an era of super random CD choices... That lady at Bottega, Proenza boys at Loewe, Bally guy at Jil, that other lady at CK...

It’s like brands deliberately choose very toned down, almost bland CDs …. ? So that maybe clothes would speak more than those designers, without expectations? I can’t accept PS boys at Loewe *cries*

 

[visvim2001]

great analysis, wombat. while I personally have not bought any of Bailey’s designs, and despite the collections getting a bit stale towards the end of his tenure, they were exactly what I expected of a fashion forward British luxury house. Every detail is considered, with experimentations with colour to mastery of prints and British signifiers. The casting is also excellent and made the brand desirable.

Burberry Prorsum Menswear for the Fall 2014 Season Inspired by British Artists and Capital | SENATUS Magazine

Christopher Bailey's latest collection inspired by artists Ben Nicholson, Lucian Freud and Duncan Grant, celebrates the British capital in arty dandy style.

senatus.net

I think the trouble began when there put a specific focus on wacky viral products rather than cultivating a total brand image. As for Lee, he did too much, too fast, too soon. I remember staring at his Roses collection and wondering who tf was going to buy the all over purple and yellow stuff. Turns out not even the Chinese wanted them. Dramatic overuse of prints and unwearable designs. Bailey only used them as accents, not the whole enchilada.

Unfortunately the new Schulman fellow and the almost inevitable arrival of KJ means that bland nova check outerwear is on the menu again. Expect more hoodies with knight designs, 1k jeans with checks on the back pockets, maybe a revival of the horrible TB tuberculosis monogram.

 

[Olaffo]

Unfortunately the new Schulman fellow and the almost inevitable arrival of KJ means that bland nova check outerwear is on the menu again. Expect more hoodies with knight designs, 1k jeans with checks on the back pockets, maybe a revival of the horrible TB tuberculosis monogram.

I don’t know why but something tells me KJ is not going to Burberry. He had his Dior contract renewed for 3 more years and he resigned. That’s one thing, the other is that Burberry won’t be able to pay him as much as LVMH and this is the guy who is not going the gig for a penny. Third thing is that after he left media indicated he is focusing on his personal interests that includes travelling and art collection. And finally after he left Dior and collected his * legion du let’s give it to anyone * he vanished.

 

[Mathewthew]

Jim Sander, my favourite fashion brand.

I just saw my typo !!~~~~~ Jim Sander seems like a nice brand

 

[Frederic01]

Daniel Lee On Reinventing Burberry’s Classic British Codes At London’s Lightroom​

BY MAHORO SEWARD
5 February 2025



Have you ever contemplated what it must be like to man one of fashion’s true blockbuster brands? Well, yesterday evening, Daniel Lee, Burberry’s chief creative officer, joined Chioma Nnadi – British Vogue’s head of editorial content – for the third chapter of Vogue Conversations at London’s Lightroom, offering first-hand insights into how he gets the job done at the helm of the country’s flagship fashion brand.

Within the illuminated space – which currently hosts Vogue: Inventing The Runway, an immersive four-storey fashion experience which explores the past, present and future of the catwalk – the pair began with a discussion of Lee’s favourite moment from the exhibition itself, with the designer choosing John Galliano’s feted spring/summer 1994 Anna Karenina show. A masterclass in the extent of fashion’s capacity for decadent drama and transportive narrative, Lee recalled his memories of discovering videos of Kate Moss and Carla Bruni embodying flighty Russian princesses in hooped silk duchesse skirts, and the indelible mark these images left on him as a designer and creative.

Lee then went on to discuss the particular nuances of his role at Burberry; how he grapples with its titanic, almost 170-year legacy – not to mention the treasure trove of en-trench-ed (sorry!) codes – while imbuing it with an air of contemporary British spirit, noting the careful balance he seeks to strike between its founding ethos of creating protective clothing with the air of modern, urban chic it represents today.


Photography Genevieve Williams

Of course, Lee’s Burberry boils down to far more than tastefully designed, weather-hardy product. A key facet of the designer’s creative vision has been the eclectic, yet ineffably coherent community of British creative talents he has built around the brand since he arrived in 2022. Indeed, there are few places where you’d realistically find the likes of Skepta, Lennon Gallagher, Olivia Colman, Mary Berry, Shygirl and Little Simz all grouped together, but Burberry’s frows and campaigns are among them. “I’m getting pretty emotional seeing all of their faces here,” Lee said, looking out at the space’s collaged walls. “For us, who we choose to work with is never about the size of their following, or whether they’re considered ‘of the moment’ – it’s really about the calibre of their artistry, and the fact that they’re the best at what they do.”

That’s an ethos that carries over onto the house’s runways, Lee explained, which have played host to the returns of great British modelling talents like Agyness Deyn and Lily Cole. Beyond the greats, they’ve also platformed what the designer called “the next generation of British global talent” – names like Kai Isaiah Jamal, Alva Claire and Maya Wigram – aka Phoebe Philo’s daughter – who became the talk of London Fashion Week when she walked Burberry’s autumn/winter 2024 show.



The discussion rounded off with a conversation around the staging of Lee’s shows for Burberry, the first three of which took place in gigantic marquees erected in local London parks. In many senses, this decision to stage what is essentially London’s flagship seasonal fashion showcase in such relatively humble settings marked a rupture with convention. On the one hand, the tent structures were both a nod to the uniquely British yen for festival culture and the fact that, back in the day, Burberry was as known for lifestyle products like gabardine tents as it was for its iconic trench coats. For Lee, however, wandering off the beaten path and out into London’s lived-in neighbourhoods was also a statement of intent. It was a sign of his desire to highlight the intimate position that the Burberry brand holds in the fabric of contemporary British culture; that it’s as much a part of the furniture of life on these drizzly isles as tea, Britpop, Marmite or a well-worn pair of wellies.

Join us for the next iteration of Vogue Conversations on 11 February, when iconic couturier and former Valentino creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli will be joined in conversation by British Vogue’s Laura Ingham. Get your ticket here.



vogue.co.uk/article/vogue-conversations-daniel-lee-lightroom/

 

[Frederic01]

Does anyone have access to the entire video? I can't seem to find it anywhere!