February 18, 2020 |
It was epic. It was huge! A vast mirrored platform filled Kensington Olympia. In the middle loomed two grand pianos for Katia and Marielle Labèque and an elevated producer platform for Arca. The trio performed a live soundscape as 108 models paraded by. The show opened with coats – well this is Burberry, a house founded upon outerwear. There were classic trenches, car coats, duffles, equestrian trenches and quilted hourglass hacking jackets – all beautifully rendered in various shades of beige. The mood was classic but the energy was utterly contemporary. This is what Riccardo Tisci brings to Burberry. He’s fast making the house a destination for great tailoring and clearly wants to make a Burberry suit as covetable for men and women as a Burberry coat.
He threw in a few surprises, giving jodhpurs a fashion reprive and showing burberry check leggings (yes, leggings!). He’s not afraid to experiment with the house check, morphing it into grunge plaid for an inspired passage of shirt dressing. That nineties reference was no accident. The show, entitled ‘Memories’, was his most personal yet, inspired by his formative years studying in London. “The moment I put my feet here, I fell in love. I realised this is my place.”
Photographs by Jason Lloyd-Evans.
