September 23, 2026 |
The Burberry trench coat has earned its very own retrospective. This September, the V&A has teamed up with the British heritage brand to unveil The Burberry Trench: Crafting An Icon, a free display at V&A South Kensington marking the house’s 170th anniversary and the enduring appeal of a coat that has weathered, quite literally, every decade since its invention.
Running from September 21 to January 3, it brings together rare pieces from the Burberry archive and the V&A’s own collection, to trace the trench from military-issue outerwear to global fashion staple.
The display sits in the museum’s rarely opened Prince Consort Gallery, whose mahogany cabinets once held fabrics from the textile collection – a fittingly storied home for a coat with this much history behind it. It unfolds in three acts. ‘Invention’ goes back to 1879 and Thomas Burberry‘s creation of cotton gabardine, the breathable, weatherproof cloth that made the coat a sought-after piece of protective kit. ‘Craft’ pulls the trench apart to admire its bones: the hand-finished collar, the house check lining, the storm flap and detachable throat latch, every detail designed for the moment the weather turns.
‘Creativity’ closes on 19 standout runway looks from the past 25 years, including designs by creative directors Daniel Lee and Christopher Bailey – proof the trench has never stopped being reinvented.
According to Burberry’s brand curator Carly Eck, objects from the archive will go on public show for the first time, from early twentieth-century catalogues to a trench once worn by the couturier Hardy Amies. It’s the kind of detail that turns a display about a garment into a display about the people who wore it. “The Burberry trench is a global design icon rooted in British craftsmanship and a symbol of innovation, creativity and timeless style,” says Eck. “We are thrilled to partner with the V&A as a highlight of our global celebrations marking 170 years of the house.”
The timing of the exhibition lands ahead of the 2028 opening of The Burberry Gallery – a major overhaul of the V&A’s fashion galleries, backed by Burberry as part of a multi-year partnership between two institutions that have spent their whole existence championing British design. As the V&A’s Head of Modern Textiles and Fashion Oriole Cullen puts it, the two share a commitment to making sure their heritage keeps inspiring the next generation. “We are delighted to work with the Burberry Archive to showcase the history of the celebrated trench coat: a British fashion staple that has stood the test of time and continues to evolve over a century on,” she says.
For now, though, it’s a love letter to a single coat: the one that started as something practical and became a British icon.
The Burberry Trench: Crafting an Icon is at V&A South Kensington from September 21. Photography courtesy of Burberry.
