Burberry climaxed the five-day London Fashion Week Monday night with a cool and concise rock ‘n’ roll revival show that refreshed the marque with plenty of punch and polish.
 

Staged inside a tent in the northwest corner of Hyde Park, the show attracted a great front row: Jason Statham and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley; rapper Skepta and soccer legend, Ian Wright; Elton John and David Furnish; songstress Raye and soul singer, Olivia Dean.
 
Designer Daniel Lee’s intention was clear from the opening looks and chords: a bright waxed plaid trench dress worn with rugged boots on a model with Marianne Faithfull hair; followed by a waxed denim trench on a guy with a Hendrix afro. The soundtrack: a great booming remix of “Planet Caravan” by Black Sabbath. A band that Lee’s Harley Davidson-riding dad adored, and whose singer Ozzy Osborne recently passed this year.

Matter of fact, not a single ensemble would look out of place on a rock star: from the dolly bird white moulded A-line cocktails finished in chains and golden or turquoise macramé party sheathes for gals. To suede lace Lothario rocker trenches for guys, to some seriously crisp suits, cut with peg legs and snug jackets. 

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Lee kept the brand’s plaid theme going with great waxed parkas, girly pants or military boots. Leather posh hippie spy coats and bags with long fringes, all looked great as the Black Sabbath montage, including “You Won’t Change Me”, boomed out.
 
Like the collection, the palette had plenty of kick: acid green, salmon pink, bitter yellow; attention- seeking, but all the better for that.
 
“Summertime in the UK is so synonymous with music culture. This year felt extra special, with the Oasis tour, Beyoncé at Glastonbury, Kendrick was here. Every few days incredible music at festivals, and the Beatles movie is coming up. But it was a wonderful mod ballet at Saddler’s Well that first got me thinking how to celebrate that… Musicians have always had incredible style, and I wanted that exchange between music and fashion,” Lee explained backstage.
 
Underlining his goal is to make clothes that require skill to produce and evoke emotion. “It’s what separates luxury from great UK high street labels, skill and know-how and making historic techniques relevant for today,” Daniel added.

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The overall look was perhaps not so path-breaking. Nonetheless collectively the collection – with its unexpected techniques – seemed very of the moment. Just right for today. 
 
The show comes at a delicate moment for Burberry, the United Kingdom’s leading luxury brand, Burberry suffered a 15% decline in annual revenue in the 12 months ending March 29 to £2,461 million, while operating profit plummeted over 90% to a mere £26 million. This collection, however, seemed very commercially savvy, and timely.
 
The night before, the house unveiled its latest retail concept, Scarf Bar, whose debut space was inside Burberry’s giant Regent Street flagship.
 
“Scarf Bar offers 200 styles of Burberry scarves, from heritage to new creations. We plan to open 30 Scarf Bars in the next three months,” beamed CEO Joshua Schulman, who joined Burberry 15 months ago in July, 2024.
 

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Offering a great selection of classic and punchier new plaids, made in a selection of materials: cashmere, mohair, wool and silk, or mixes of all four. Situated on the south side of the store, the Scarf Bar cleverly utilizes a slightly forgotten retail space that opens out on to Vigo Street. It’s also a smart example of Schulman – a veteran retailer with experience at department store giant Neiman Marcus.
 
Schulman, according to UK media reports, is the highest paid luxury executive in Britain. The 52-year-old Los Angeles-born Schulman, who was also previously CEO of Michael Kors, Coach and Jimmy Choo, reputedly has an annual salary of £2.6 million.
 
Since arriving, Schulman has ordered a reset, and in May unveiled plans to lay off 1,700 people or some 20% of its workforce, tough decisions greeted positively by shareholders. With the group’s share price rising 50% since his appointment.

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Schulman has a major task on his hands, and a major upside if he is successful. Should he double Burberry’s share price in three years he will earn a £3.6 million bonus.
 
Post-show, both designer and CEO were in an ebullient mood, hosting a bash inside Chiltern Firehouse, the 26-suite London hotel famed as a celebrity hangout, which is also undergoing a restoration since burning wood from a pizza oven caused a huge fire back in February.  The fact that Chiltern Firehouse would permit a soft pop-up for Burberry, a reminder of house’s unique position in Britain.
 
But tonight, far from being a “Bonfire of the Vanities”, Burberry suddenly began looking in pretty good shape.