Celebrities on front row as Daniel Lee presents debut collection for Burberry
The designer joined the British fashion house last year. By Katie Wright.
Burberry has unveiled its first fashion collection designed by new creative director Daniel Lee.
Bradford-born Lee, 37, was appointed in September, taking over from creative director Riccardo Tisci, who had been at the helm of the heritage brand since 2018.
The Burberry autumn/winter 2023 show, which featured both menswear and womenswear, was held at Kennington Park during London Fashion Week.
Celebrities in attendance including actor Jason Statham and his partner Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, film director Baz Luhrmann, and Vogue editors Edward Enninful and Anna Wintour.
Iris Law, the 22-year-old daughter of actors Jude Law and Sadie Frost, appeared on the catwalk.
Lee focused heavily on outerwear with his inaugural collection, but shied away from the beige trench coats for which Burberry is famous.
The first model wore a long black coat with a green faux-fur collar and carried what appeared to be a matching hot water bottle – as did many of the other models.
The colour palette was predominantly a mix of black and jewel tones such as deep purple, bottle green, mustard, magenta and electric blue.
As well as sweeping coats, there were flight jackets, parkas, and military-style jackets with matching baggy trousers.
One model was wrapped in a large white blanket emblazoned with a blue equestrian knight design, the logo unveiled two weeks ago as Lee’s “first creative expression” for the brand.
The designer brought a modern, streetwear aesthetic with slogan T-shirts and irreverent touches such as a woolly hat topped with a 3D knitted duck.
The countryside theme continued with a jumper embellished with rooster-style fake feathers and a voluminous coat covered in the same feathers.
There was very little by way of eveningwear apart from a couple of one-shoulder dresses, a distinct contrast to previous creative director Tisci, who often closed his shows with a slew of supermodels in glitzy gowns.
Lee, who wore a dark green hoodie to take his bow on the catwalk, received a mixed reaction on social media.
Some fans heralded the brand’s new direction, while other said they were underwhelmed by the designer’s debut.
