Bradford-born designer and former Bottega Veneta designer Daniel Lee was announced as Burberry's chief creative office at the end of 2022.
Lee is the successor of Riccardo Tisci, who helmed the label for four years. During his time there, Tisci was instrumental in rebranding Burberry. He introduced streetwear to the label, by way of logo-heavy sneakers and boxy bomber jackets, as well as a new logo and Helvetica typeface. Tisci remoulded Burberry. It was a success to the tune of a 21 per cent revenue increase. That's £2.83 billion. Lee, however, is widely expected to take Britain's foremost luxury brand to a newer place.
Under Lee's guidance, Bottega Veneta went from being an in-the-know luxury outfit for jetsetters to a hypey brand worn by the biggest names in the world: Rihanna and A$AP Rocky, Kendall Jenner, Skepta. Sales increased too.
But what does Lee's Burberry look like? After scrubbing its social media feeds this weekend, the team over at Burberry cut the ribbon on the house's new era.
Tisci's blocky logo is no more. In its place a whimsical, old-world Burberry logo (already in use on the brand's website). Alongside it the return of the historical equestrian ‘Prorsum’ logo, which was first created in 1901, but removed from use by Tisci. The brand has also unveiled a series of telling campaign images, shot by Tyrone Lebone (he worked with Lee at Veneta) across London at the likes of Trafalgar Square and Albert Bridge. Vanessa Redgrave was shot in the centre of London. She's wide-eyed and trench coat-ed. Footballer Raheem Sterling is getting refreshingly weird with a white rose. Liberty Ross too. Hackney rapper John Glacier blowing about in the wind with Big Ben in the background. Tottenham Hale's de facto king, Skepta. It's quirky. A little odd. It's not too serious. It's inherently British.
Where Tisci's time at Burberry was undeniably successful in its own right, the label underwent a dramatic change. Sure there were campaigns with some of the country's big names – Naomi, Shygirl – but Tisci's Burberry became widely known for its high wattage castings of the Kardashians and Bella Hadid. The label's signature trench coats were given a makeover: sleeveless, and perhaps a little unfamiliar to the brand faithful. Burberry became less about Blighty, and more a global brand.
“Burberry flies the flag for Britishness and for the UK and for culture. So, we have to use our platforms because we have a responsibility to communicate those things,” Lee told Vogue Runway in December. “This is what Burberry should be.” Jonathan Ackroyd, CEO of Burberry, told The Times in an interview: “Daniel is thinking hard about who are the icons of Britain today, he’s got some really exciting ideas. I promise you, you’re going to see an incredibly strong brand image.
“Today Britain is much more cosmopolitan, there is a little bit more of an edge to it, a different spirit. There is a big opportunity for us to communicate in a different way."
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