‘My first year at Burberry was about understanding and refining the new codification for the house. With that foundation in place, I feel ready to start exploring what’s at the heart of this incredible brand.
In the archive, I discovered this beautiful story at the origin of our past. Thomas Burberry was a young pioneer and a self-made man who built his company during the Victorian era – a time in Britain for great change and progress and an era that has always inspired me and my work. He chose to present his company with an emblem of a knight on a horse, but for his family crest, he instead chose a unicorn. Thomas Burberry was a daring innovator but also a romantic and a dreamer.
This is the story behind this collection, a collection inspired by our past and dedicated to our future. It’s the evolution of our Burberry kingdom.’ – Riccardo Tisci, Burberry Chief Creative Officer
Burberry’s new Spring/Summer 2020 collection called Evolution is a celebration of new house codes and is influenced by the time Burberry was founded – the Victorian era.
The Spring/Summer 2020 show was presented in West London in a vast theatre which was transformed to feature a giant mirrored cube at its core, which lifted as the show started to reveal a Victorian-inspired sound system installation with rust flooring and ceiling. The space reflected the palette of the collection with hues of white, grey, silver and neutral earth tones.
Guests from the worlds of fashion, film, sport and music attended the show, including British talents Dua Lipa, FKA Twigs, Lily James, Taron Egerton, Naomi Scott, Jordan Spence, Naomi Campbell, Octavian, Ruben Loftus-Cheek as well as Rosalía, Carla Bruni, Anwar Hadid, Jisoo, Isabelle Huppert, Chen Kun, Hunter Schafer, Mahmood, Lucas Wong, Brent Faiyaz, Shay, Boychild, Lily Aldridge, Isabeli Fontana, Joan Smalls and brand ambassadors Zhou Dongyu and Ah In Yoo.
New faces and established models walked the show including Fran Summers, Gigi Hadid, Irina Shayk, Kendall Jenner, He Cong, Sora Choi, Nyarach Abouch Ayuel, Freja Beha Erichsen, Grace Elizabeth, Ugbad Abdi, Rianne van Rompaey, Cat McNeil, Mona Tougaard, Alexis Chaparro, Benji Arvay, Tashi Jay-Kwayie, Finn Rosseel, Ibrahim, Junior Vasquez, Matteo Ferri Jay Park, Nozomu, Maxwell Annoh and Agyness Deyn – who returns to London Fashion Week after seven years. Bella Hadid, Olga Holinka and Alesya Kafe make their Burberry debut. DJ William Djoko curated an emotive soundtrack for the show.
The collection mixes innovative techniques with classic fabrications. Victorian-inspired silhouettes create cinched waists and elaborate sleeves for both men and women, while fluid fabrics and hybrid details such as detachable and extendable hems feature throughout. Burberry also introduced Anne on the runway, their equestrian-inspired style detailed with Thomas Burberry Monogram hardware and bridle straps. Signature unisex bags are reinterpreted – from Lola, in miniature and bum bag iterations, to the giant Pocket Bag.
