Daniel Lee - Designer, Creative Director of Burberry

[Fulton St Critique]

I don’t know I feel like it’s something quite personal at the end of the day, even if there are some pieces that have some kind of instant visual appeal. When you see a collection that is very directional it’s easy to sense which pieces will sell the most or at least can grab the attention.
But for me, eye-catching doesn’t necessarily means desirable (when there’s a use of logos for example).

For me, fashion is daywear. That’s what I look forward to, something that I buy and I really love the idea of buying or being inspired by HF in my everyday life. Tomas Maier’s Bottega Veneta was at it best with Cocktail dresses and eveningwear. I may have 4 or 5 pieces from his time and they were all cocktail dresses. What made them maybe desirable was a combination of many things…Shapes, colors, fabrics and a kind of minimalist prettiness but also the aura of the brand at that time. They are all from the 2007-2009 era of BV.

What separates something good or great from desirable is details. Tomas was a great and technically accomplished designer for BV. He did drapés, plissés, insanely gracious and luxurious collections… Daniel Lee had just that perfect eye for colors. His strength was really knitwear and the separates had those colors that are just yummy. Even the signature green that was so annoying and almost irritating has become such a strong stamp!

Sometimes the presentation can make something desirable. Hedi Slimane has that genius of turning basic pieces into things you feel like you cannot live without.

I admire your braveness for commenting on Hedi Slimane’s ability to transform the basic into the desirable. If I remember correctly, someone stated he is in his “flop era”

 

[Lola701]

I admire your braveness for commenting on Hedi Slimane’s ability to transform the basic into the desirable. If I remember correctly, someone stated he is in his “flop era”

He may be in his flop era (I personally don’t think that selling logo merchandise is a testament of his success) and I really consider him as a quite limited designer but let’s be honest, he is a fabulous stylist. There’s something common, almost banal in his fashion and yet, he manage to make it look fresh and desirable.
Apart from the perfumes, I haven’t purchased anything from his Celine but the closest I was to purchase something, it was a Breton sweater embroidered with clear sequins. That’s the genius of Hedi. It’s basic but yet, not so basic. That little detail made it desirable and that was the element that turned a simple classic into a fashion statement.
If he was willing to push himself in womenswear, he would be incredible!

 

[Fulton St Critique]

He may be in his flop era (I personally don’t think that selling logo merchandise is a testament to his success) and I really consider him as a quite limited designer but let’s be honest, he is a fabulous stylist. There’s something common, almost banal in his fashion and yet, he manages to make it look fresh and desirable.
Apart from the perfumes, I haven’t purchased anything from his Celine but the closest I was to purchasing something, it was a Breton sweater embroidered with clear sequins. That’s the genius of Hedi. It’s basic but yet, not so basic. That little detail made it desirable and that was the element that turned a simple classic into a fashion statement.
If he was willing to push himself in womenswear, he would be incredible!

I was being sarcastic regarding his supposed flop era. Truthfully, if Hedi ever had a so called “flop era” in terms of creativity- not selling- I would argue that happened during his second go-around at Saint Laurent.

This is such a fashion cliche and I really hate to go here, but I have to. To really “get” Slimane’s Celine- particularly his menswear- you have to see it in stores. His daywear inparticular does not translate through the screen. It has any “fashion investigators” ready to scream “IT IS ZARA, OH, THE HORROR, I SAW THIS IN TOPSHOP IN 2017!!!!”, when in reality the manufacturing between Celine and Zara is worlds apart.

I for one am really only interested in exceptionally made separates. My current wardrobe staples include Prada and Comme trousers, any oxford from Clavin Klein (Off the rack at Macy’s ) to Dries and Sies Marjan, and knits from Margiela and Raf. If I could afford to splurge on a jacket from Celine or one of his patented vests I would because I appreciate his aesthetic and quality. I would never dare to wear industry “up-and-comers” such as Craig Green or Hed Mayner simply because I do not resonate with the product or brand ethos. If these “fashion investigators” want to prop up the new kids then fine, but to drag Slimane because you found a pair of $70 trousers at Zara that has a similar proportion to Slimane’s Celine offering, fine, you are right he sucks and lacks originality. A Toyota Corolla and Bugatti both have a stearing wheel. Fashion is trivial anyway, right?

 

[TianCouture]

I was being sarcastic regarding his supposed flop era. Truthfully, if Hedi ever had a so called “flop era” in terms of creativity- not selling- I would argue that happened during his second go-around at Saint Laurent.

This is such a fashion cliche and I really hate to go here, but I have to. To really “get” Slimane’s Celine- particularly his menswear- you have to see it in stores. His daywear inparticular does not translate through the screen. It has any “fashion investigators” ready to scream “IT IS ZARA, OH, THE HORROR, I SAW THIS IN TOPSHOP IN 2017!!!!”, when in reality the manufacturing between Celine and Zara is worlds apart.

I for one am really only interested in exceptionally made separates. My current wardrobe staples include Prada and Comme trousers, any oxford from Clavin Klein (Off the rack at Macy’s ) to Dries and Sies Marjan, and knits from Margiela and Raf. If I could afford to splurge on a jacket from Celine or one of his patented vests I would because I appreciate his aesthetic and quality. I would never dare to wear industry “up-and-comers” such as Craig Green or Hed Mayner simply because I do not resonate with the product or brand ethos. If these “fashion investigators” want to prop up the new kids then fine, but to drag Slimane because you found a pair of $70 trousers at Zara that has a similar proportion to Slimane’s Celine offering, fine, you are right he sucks and lacks originality. A Toyota Corolla and Bugatti both have a stearing wheel. Fashion is trivial anyway, right?

There's only so many ways to make a hoodie though.

 

[Fulton St Critique]

There's only so many ways to make a hoodie though.

Is there though? What about manipulating proportions, experimenting with dimension? How about choosing the seemingly endless options for fabrication? For H&M, that might be the case, because the block they use for a fleece lined hoodie rarely changes, but for “high” fashion designers with an imagination, the posibilities for reimagining such a basic garment are really vast.

Again, that is really my point about looking through fashion in a 2-d lense. I remember Bliss Foster did a youtube video on why “all clothes look the same”. He very briefly touched on pattern making, but the real reason the majority of apparel looks the same is one, because as human beings our bodies are for the most part copies from one another. For the most part, we each have a head, two arms, and two legs. For centuries crafting garments around the body makes sense given our genetic makeup and how clothing lays atop and wraps around our genetic makeup. Sleeves line arms, trousers extend down to the foot, footwear protects the feet from injury etc. And for people like Green and Rei who are tired of such monotony within the industry, their unnatural approach to garment formation, while praised and rightfully so, is worlds apart from reality. Take the London “genius” Matty Bovan for instance. Imagine you you in a meeting or in Starbucks waiting in line and in walks someone sporting one of his creations? I mean seriously? I could go on and on about the designers in-between like Chitose Abe but I think you get my point.

**Also, I could be totally wrong so don’t take my word for it its just an opinion I have been sitting on for a while.

Lastly, as it relates to the hoodie, Margiela proved that the only limit to how far one goes is up to that designer- especially as it relates to daywear. I would LOVE to see MMs take on a “basic hoodie” in 2022.

 

[tricotineacetat]

There's only so many ways to make a hoodie though.

Despite the fact there is a lot of casual 'merch' such as hoodies, t-shirts and sneakers in his collections, that is not the core of Hedi Slimane's work - His signature is mainly tailoring and outerwear, which is where his exacting standards for cut and fabrication shine. Besides Tom Ford's, Celine suits are probably still the best in men's fashion, when you don't consider heritage brands such as Brioni or Kiton a part of that conversation (as their's are very much classical neapolitan suits for a much more conservative customer).

 

[tricotineacetat]

Is there though? What about manipulating proportions, experimenting with dimension? How about choosing the seemingly endless options for fabrication? For H&M, that might be the case, because the block they use for a fleece lined hoodie rarely changes, but for “high” fashion designers with an imagination, the posibilities for reimagining such a basic garment are really vast.

Again, that is really my point about looking through fashion in a 2-d lense. I remember Bliss Foster did a youtube video on why “all clothes look the same”. He very briefly touched on pattern making, but the real reason the majority of apparel looks the same is one, because as human beings our bodies are for the most part copies from one another. For the most part, we each have a head, two arms, and two legs. For centuries crafting garments around the body makes sense given our genetic makeup and how clothing lays atop and wraps around our genetic makeup. Sleeves line arms, trousers extend down to the foot, footwear protects the feet from injury etc. And for people like Green and Rei who are tired of such monotony within the industry, their unnatural approach to garment formation, while praised and rightfully so, is worlds apart from reality. Take the London “genius” Matty Bovan for instance. Imagine you you in a meeting or in Starbucks waiting in line and in walks someone sporting one of his creations? I mean seriously? I could go on and on about the designers in-between like Chitose Abe but I think you get my point.

**Also, I could be totally wrong so don’t take my word for it its just an opinion I have been sitting on for a while.

Lastly, as it relates to the hoodie, Margiela proved that the only limit to how far one goes is up to that designer- especially as it relates to daywear. I would LOVE to see MMs take on a “basic hoodie” in 2022.

I would go as far as to say you can tell which part of his collections are lazy merch that has next to no touch of his hand, as the masses of easy casualwear show - This is the main criticism I have with Hedi, that those pieces are shameless cash cows, unlike what you mentioned, a staple garment revisited and elevated which is what the better part of his work is all about.

 

[vogue28]

Daniel Lee announced as Burberry’s new creative director, replacing Riccardo Tisci:

 

[Frederic01]

Can't wait to see what he does for Burberry!

I hope he gets rid of that awful TB monogram thing that Riccardo introduced and changes the typeface back to something more aligned with the heritage.

 

[THD96]

Wow, these people mean business, two days after his show, I guessed it was a bumpy relationship between the two. It wasn't a good marriage anyway.
Riccardo can use sometimes off with his Non-compete contract and recharge. With his connection I know he'll comeback in no time.

This is your redemption act Daniel. Good luck, and don't f*** it up.

 

[Overindulgence]

RIP to the Burberry team if the previous rumors regarding his behavior are true...but I'm excited to see what Lee does at Burberry. It's no secret that I am a Lee apologist and was a huge fan of his Bottega Veneta (I think Frederic01and I deserve an invite to the Fall 2023 show at this point). He will have to flex a slightly different muscle at Burberry as it's such a behemoth of a brand and has more restrictions than Bottega did.

 

[Frederic01]

RIP to the Burberry team if the previous rumors regarding his behavior are true...but I'm excited to see what Lee does at Burberry. It's no secret that I am a Lee apologist and was a huge fan of his Bottega Veneta (I think Frederic01and I deserve an invite to the Fall 2023 show at this point). He will have to flex a slightly different muscle at Burberry as it's such a behemoth of a brand and has more restrictions than Bottega did.

Absolutely! See you there!

 

[YohjiAddict]

They’ve already invested in a team of therapists with a specialty in PTSD for the design team and a “Warning. He eats interns for breakfast” sign to be located near his office…

 

[Lola701]

One thing I loved about his BV was the outerwear and I’m excited to see his vision for the house.
Yes hopefully, he has learned his lesson and did some work on himself to be more pleasant at work. But working from London means for him that his working in a familiar place with the press already on his sleeves.

@Frederic01 really needs his place at every Burberry event from now.

 

[Deleted member 119799]

They’ve already invested in a team of therapists with a specialty in PTSD for the design team and a “Warning. He eats interns for breakfast” sign to be located near his office…

and f*cks them as well
honestly why a company like burberry is taking the risk with a loose canon like daniel lee is completely beyond me

 

[Frederic01]

One thing I loved about his BV was the outerwear and I’m excited to see his vision for the house.
Yes hopefully, he has learned his lesson and did some work on himself to be more pleasant at work. But working from London means for him that his working in a familiar place with the press already on his sleeves.

@Frederic01 really needs his place at every Burberry event from now.

Agree 100%. The outerwear and the knitwear was superb under his tenure. And of course the accessories too. I wonder if he will re-assemble his old team? Like Nina Christen, who left Bottega to design shoes for Loewe.

 

[RaisinBoy]

and f*cks them as well
honestly why a company like burberry is taking the risk with a loose canon like daniel lee is completely beyond me

wait a minute — I of course know abotu his drug related stories, but what is this about fu**** of the interns/team members?? ouch

 

[RaisinBoy]

RIP to the Burberry team if the previous rumors regarding his behavior are true...but I'm excited to see what Lee does at Burberry. It's no secret that I am a Lee apologist and was a huge fan of his Bottega Veneta (I think Frederic01and I deserve an invite to the Fall 2023 show at this point). He will have to flex a slightly different muscle at Burberry as it's such a behemoth of a brand and has more restrictions than Bottega did.

What are the rumors besides drugs??

 

[Salvatore]

I live for the shake-ups ! I feel neutral about Lee and Burberry, but this opens the doors for some shifting at other houses I hope.

 

[Kimihiro]

Ditch the TB monogram whatever. I hope his Burberry tenure will be more understated and no more obnoxious colors. I’m excited to see what spin he will put to outerwear. It could be amazing really.