Burberry reveals elements from its first straight-to-consumer collection to be presented on 19 September 2016

Burberry has unveiled elements from its first straight-to-consumer collection, including a preview of the new advertising campaign launching on 19 September after the Burberry show, and the announcement of a new collaboration with The New Craftsmen.

The new campaign and collection

Featuring new British cast members Jean Campbell, Cavan McCarthy and Alex Dragulele, the ad campaign previews looks from Burberry’s September collection which is influenced by Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, contrasting masculine and feminine styles across different periods in history.

Captured at the sculpture gallery at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool by photographer Mario Testino, the ad campaign’s location serves as an historic backdrop to the brand’s latest collection.

In celebration of the highly crafted new collection, Testino has also captured a series of portraits of Burberry artisans, the men and women from mills and factories across England, Scotland, and Italy whose passion and skill contribute to making Burberry’s products. To launch the campaign, Burberry has revealed a portrait of the pattern maker for its newest bag, The Bridle.

The images will launch in their entirety straight after the new Burberry collection has been shown during London Fashion Week on 19 September, to coincide with the collection’s immediate availability for purchase globally.

The New Craftsmen to bring collection to life at Burberry’s new show venue

Burberry is also proud to announce its partnership with The New Craftsmen today. The partnership, launching on the evening of the Burberry show, will see some of Britain’s finest craft makers bringing the inspiration behind the collection to life through a daily changing programme of activities and installations within the brand’s new show venue in London.

The new Burberry show venue, named “Makers House”, will be located at 1 Manette Street in the heart of London’s Soho, and will be open to visitors from 21-27 September, showcasing original works by a selection of makers who will use this space to experiment and create, using the collection’s inspiration as the starting point for their work.

Burberry Chief Creative and Chief Executive Officer Christopher Bailey said:

“This campaign reflects a collection inspired by Virginia Woolf’s Orlando and also sets out to honour the many skilled craftspeople who work on Burberry’s iconic products. I am therefore very proud to be sharing Mario Testino’s incredible portraits of Jean Campbell, Cavan McCarthy and Alex Dragulele, which we have set alongside portraits of our talented Burberry artisans.

In this spirit of honouring contemporary artisanal excellence, we are also proud to announce an exciting collaboration with The New Craftsmen as part of our September presentation during London Fashion Week.

Just as Virginia Woolf’s Orlando is both a love-letter to the past and a work of profound modernity, this week-long exhibition aims to nod both to the design heritage that is so integral to Burberry’s identity, and to some of Britain’s most exciting creators, and the innovation and inspiration behind their work.”

Burberry Show, 7:30pm (BST), 19 September 2016

Burberry’s new collection will be presented on the runway as part of London Fashion Week on Monday 19 September, where both womenswear and menswear collections will be presented together for the first time for Burberry’s inaugural straight-to-consumer show. Seasonless, immediate, and personal, the new format has been designed with a global audience in mind. This move, announced in February, will significantly shorten the traditional gap between the runway show and retail availability of the collection.

Notes to editors

About the campaign

• The new campaign features a cast of British models Jean Campbell and Alex Dragulele, and musician Cavan McCarthy (from the band Swim Deep).
  
  1. Jean Campbell’s first campaign was for Burberry in 2013 and she made her runway debut for the brand in February 2014. 
  
  
• The campaign also features a portrait of Piero Calosi, the pattern maker for Burberry’s newest bag, The Bridle.
• The new campaign was shot at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. The Walker Art Gallery boasts an internationally-renowned collection of paintings, sculpture and decorative art including one of the best collections of Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite art in the country and an outstanding collection of modern and contemporary works, featuring paintings by David Hockney, Lucian Freud and Bridget Riley. The campaign will be revealed in its entirety from 19 September and run until February 2017 across outdoor and print advertising, as well as all Burberry platforms including Burberry.com, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Sina Weibo, Pinterest, WeChat, Kakao, LINE, Youku, Google+ and LinkedIn.

About the collection

• The new collection will be revealed at 7:30pm on 19 September 2016 as part of London Fashion Week, and is influenced by Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, contrasting masculine and feminine styles.
• The collection introduces The Bridle, a new bag for men and women, which takes its inspiration from classic British equestrian designs and Burberry’s outdoor heritage, and is previewed in the new campaign.

About the Burberry September show

• In February 2016, Burberry announced plans to change the way it creates, presents and sells its runway collections.
• From this September, Burberry will replace its current four-show calendar with two shows, combining its womenswear and menswear collections on the runway for the first time. Seasonless, immediate, and personal, the new format and calendar have been designed with a global audience in mind.
  
  1. Burberry Chief Creative and Chief Executive Officer Christopher Bailey said, “The changes we are making will allow us to build a closer connection between the experience that we create with our runway shows and the moment when people can physically explore the collections for themselves. Our shows have been evolving to close this gap for some time. From live-streaming, to ordering straight from the runway, to live social media campaigns, this is the latest step in a creative process that will continue to evolve.”
  
  
• The show will take place at a new show venue – “Makers House” - at 1 Manette Street in the heart of Soho, London.

About The New Craftsmen

• Established in 2012, The New Craftsmen have helped shape and define a new appreciation and interest in craftsmanship.
• Placing a firm emphasis on celebrating the makers behind the objects, The New Craftsmen present a carefully considered but diverse collection of works by a selection of Britain’s finest craft makers to showcase the materials, skills and craft products of the British Isles.
• The New Craftsmen currently represents a network of over 75 makers working in textiles, silverware, furniture, ceramics, jewellery, glassware and beyond.
• The partnership with Burberry launches on the evening of the runway show on 19 September and will see a programme of activity and installations within “Makers House”, the brand’s new show venue in London, open to visitors from 21-27 September.

About Burberry

• Established in 1856, Burberry is a global British luxury brand with a heritage of innovation, craftsmanship and design.
• The Burberry business comprises five divisions: menswear, womenswear, childrenswear, accessories and beauty.
• Burberry is headquartered in London and listed on the London Stock Exchange (BRBY.L); Burberry is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index.
• Visit www.burberry.com for further information.