Burberry is a powerhouse and I get why they appointed him. He made Givenchy profitable. Before his announcement at Givenchy they turned over a few designers before he made an impact on his market in 2007.
I remember back in 2005 Sidney Tolendo told John Galliano to buck his ideas up and make Dior profitable and desirable so instead, they got rid of T-Shirts and Jacquard bags (Dior Rasta) in replacement were exotic skins and more exclusivity - but when you look at the market now, t-shirts, sweatshirts, entry level items like SLG's are still fuelling the bottom line and that is what he achieved and made desirable at Givenchy yet elevated the brands image into the luxury sector whilst remaining accessible. This thread is a fine example of everyone missing his couture, yet when you look at their wholesale doors they easily exceed 200 world-wide? without stand alone and concessions. if you look at what is retailing now on places like MrPorter, Net-a-porter, Luisaviaroma et al they still sell signature Tisci pieces from his tenure, I haven't seen much of Clare's yet, however it is early days. But the Givenchy Paris motif, the star embellishments etc are still incredibly popular. Just like Hedi at SL.
Burberry are not stupid with this hiring, I just hope Riccardo does drown us in check because we are being waterboarded with the past few seasons when this is not what we need to be seeing. I think if you want to see successful re-introductions of logos or motifs look at Fendi or Gucci for examples of how they bought their Jacquard materials back, or Dior for that matter.
I think the issue with that check is the scale they use it on, it covers everything, it's not a detail on something - it IS the item itself.
Anyway, I'm shocked at this announcement but it's refreshing to be surprised than expecting it so kudos to them for keeping it so lowkey.