Chief Creative Officer Ricardo Tisci continues to play with the past of Burberry, making mode modern.
If the old adage that it’s not what you know but who you know actually checks out, then Ricardo Tisci is this galaxy’s genius. He goes for drinks with Dua Lipa, hangs out with best bud Madonna, collaborates with pals Kanye and Jay-Z and parties with Rihanna and Nicki Minaj.
It’s no wonder, then, that the Givenchy alumnus has chosen to celebrate the “men and women who represent Burberry” for his SS20 collection, the ultimate social butterfly fluttering flattery to the flowers of show business.
Starring Bella Hadid, Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner (now chicly stylised as Kendall) alongside a diverse range of models (Benji Arvay, Nozomu Ito, Tosin Olajire), each talent has shared his or her own story about the fashion house. From Burberry meaning “home” to treating them with “such kindness, support and respect,” there’s no denying that Tisci is quite the sweetheart of the fashion world.
He’s proved a hit with customers, too. Since being named as their CCO back in 2018, he’s overseen a Peter Saville-infused reinvention of their logo and freshened up the image with streetwear looks. Blending the past with the future is the design of the present, and Burberry is achieving it seamlessly.
The SS20 collection draws upon this paradox of old and new with two more key themes: the eccentric and classic. It’s a properly British love affair—trench coats married with sartorial evening looks, West-end wear turned west with hoodwinked, visor-style bonnets.
Bags blend the beige with metallic and off-white hues. The signature bags are celebrated throughout: the TB Bag, Lola and Pocket Bag all feature. As many noted when it hit the catwalk, there’s not a square of the classic nova check to be seen in sight. Neither the monogram printed in his previous collections.
That’s no bad thing, though. Something ostensibly Burberry but less ostentatiously so makes for a more classy, classic feel from Tisci. Beige, but certainly not boring.
Next up will be their AW20 showcase, debuting in a couple of weeks. Whatever the looks will be there, we know one thing: the guest-list is going to be mega.
The Burberry SS20 campaign is available now, here.
