Burberry fall 2022

Aside from a trench coat and the plaid, please tell me what the most visible traits are for this heritage brand. Apparently Tisci just discovered this as well the symbol for Prorsum... a part of the Burberry history that hasn’t been spoken of or seen since the days of Rosemarie Bravo who aptly named the ready to wear segment of the brand by that moniker when it was designed by Roberto Menechetti. How many of today’s so called fashionphiles have ever heard of Prorsum let alone recognize the symbol for it?

So, with all that said, this is one of Tisci’s best outings to date only because he has finally surrendered to the plaid and the raincoat as key elements and yet the rest is still nothing but filler.

Plaid is a notoriously poor seller at retail for women and I’m not sure that any women, of any age, want to accentuate their hips, own a fully quilted ballgown, look like a fullback or wear thigh high latex boots. I did however love the gathered/pleated/ shirred trench dress cum coat and some other pieces which have nothing at all to do with the brand. I might add here that there is no excuse to see the sewing of a hemline on a ball gown from any designer.

Bottom line is, my guess, is the signature plaid pieces will sell and a minority of the other pieces which just will serve the need for lady clothes for women who can afford them. It’s just sort of a yawn and once again there is no place for politics in fashion!

PS ... explain to me who wants to look like Big Bird in a ball gown or wear a patchwork leather Jacket that looks like it fell off the back page of some cheap ass fashion magazine?

                               *****CLICK ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE*****

Burberry Prorsum Women's Spring 2016 LFW

Having never been in awe of Christopher Bailey’s supposed great talents, this collection has does nothing to alter my opinion. IMHO, he is overhyped but not as talentless as many of his peers.

click on the image to enlarge

The Spring Collection for 2016 contains some stellar pieces but as usual they fall into the outerwear category which was exactly the category that catapulted the brand to fame. The most military influences were front and center from silhouettes to the gold bullion embellishments and of course there were the trench coats which took leading roles for the season. Funny, that the same white that was a highlight of me men’s review still looks right and trendy some 3 months later.

click on the image to enlarge

click on the image to enlarge

As for the vintage sissy missy dresses... well why did they look like the girls forgot their knickers or underpinnings; the dresses looked like shells of what might have been. There were a few exceptions like the black daisy dress and a sort of menopausal rose colored heavily embellished lace dress. The ice cream palette combined with the wine and black did nothing to enhance their qualities. Before it’s forgotten, the shoes, oh the shoes surely did nothing to enhance the dresses’ femininity alas making them look hippyish rather than chic.

click on the image to enlarge

One item struck as maybe one of the best pieces within the collection and that was what can be called a 21^st century take on the sweatshirt. It was shown with a print skirt and seemed to be a one off piece as its theme or silhouette was never expanded upon. We could speak of the prints but we won’t. While on the subject of what we won’t discuss, we won’t discuss that the collection looked very spotty in terms of quality in particular a pea coat which looked particularly ill sewn.

click on the image to enlarge

click on the image to enlarge

Lastly, you would have to be blind not to have noticed nary a plaid in site and the utter lack of accessories in this show which is highly uncharacteristic as it is my opinion that the accessories are what really keep this brand growing in tens of sales. But one more time, it must be asked “where’s the beef?” … get it?

Burberry Prorsum .. by Christopher Bailey ... men's spring 2016

Almost every single review of the past women’s collections and now men’s has spent some time discussing the Omni-ambi-bi-a-sexuality of that collection but not here! What needs to be spoken of here is that in the 60s and 70s when some men were focused and eagerly awaiting the newest creations from International Male, Ah Men, Lew Magram or the back pages of Esquire and GQ. The end result was the same, all in search of those sexy, possibly taboo, articles of clothing that more than exemplified, or maybe that’s overstated, the peacock eras of menswear. In a way these catalogs and ads were oddly prescient as is evidenced in the current Burberry Prorsum collection for Spring 2016.

Christopher Bailey flexes his gender bending brand muscle with his heavy and almost all inclusive use of lace. Some of it, well to me, very little of it, is appealing despite its press worthiness. What was most intriguing to me was the standard chesterfield coat with lace replacing velvet and the addition of the lace to a very standard issue trench, and then there were a few quilted pieces which were especially appealing along with the cashmere joggers, the tasseled loafer, long scarves and the new giraffe print.

This is a collection based solely on fabrication and not much more. Yes great jackets and outerwear but that is a given in any Burberry collection. What I found to be most intriguing here is that the collection had some sort of nerdy 50s vibe that was built on short sleeved shirts, narrow ties and tie bars, geeky color combinations and high water pants. Yes the joggers are lust worthy and very few of the lace pieces the same but as a whole ….yawning!!!!

Burberry Prorsum resort 2016

While not being a huge fan of Christopher Bailey, but in an effort to give credit where credit is due, he has delivered some amazing collections. What is bothersome to me, besides him being very over rated, is that the collections bear no continuity other than the ubiquitous trench coat. It might be said that it is the last shred of the original DNA of the brand other than the plaid.

Resort 2016 plays right into what has become the M O for the brand and so many other heritage brands and that is simply presenting collections of clothes ... nondescript unidentifiable clothes whose only purpose is to fill the racks for that particular season. There is no more instant recognition here as there has been no effort from the brand’s design team to develop one.

Yes, the clothes are pretty, as well they should be considering the prices. Yes the animal prints have become somewhat of a signature but they could be attributed to anyone. What is most outstanding is that Bailey has truly massaged the trench coat in the most beautiful and skilled ways. This season, without doubt, the heavy lace trenches are just sublime as well as one “hairy” animal print version … wearable? ... well who knows and who cares.. they are exquisite. All the simple shaped silhouettes show off the incredible fabrications, combinations and permutations of lace in its many forms. What evades me is that other than models who are paid to wear these clothes or the gals who are given these clothes ... who is buying them and where are they wearing them?

What one must credit Bailey, Bravo and Ahrendts with the company developing a HUGE accessory business and that alone might be what supports the marquee category, let alone resuscitated the sleepy brand. In essence, Burberry will always be about trench coat and plaid no matter what comes down that runway season after season. It saddens me that these  great “blue blood”  brands lose sight of who and why they become iconic, yes, yes I am aware that times change and brands must evolve to survive but why always take the easiest path and that is to ignore the history and create a new visual vocabulary which unfortunately  is no longer brand specific.

Yes, the collection is appealing to a very narrow audience, the accessories are very commercial and yet I say so what?

Burberry Prorsum by Christopher Bailey fall 2015

While Burberry is not a collection that usually ranks too high on my list of favorites, there are times when one must recognize facts. The facts are simply that Christopher Bailey delivered a collection that stands on its own and speaks to the customer who is enamored both by him and the brand.

After seeing countless London  and New York collections that are either totally unwearable, “me too” or abjectly absurd, Burberry Prorsum is a breath of fresh air. This is a riot of pattern, a cacophony of prints and a clangor of color... you get the idea... right? The references and influences are decidedly hippy, 60s and 70s filled with those India block prints as well as some of the more African inspired origins. There are mirrors, fringe galore, ponchos, whip stitching, bandana prints, patchworks and a folkloric bend that reminds one of Valentino. What seems to be happening is that leopard has become a signature of the collection with good reason as I am sure it translates to big numbers.

Brass tacks... no I’m not in love with this collection but it offers such Great Spirit and exuberance that it would be hard to ignore it. Bailey has carved his own path for the brand and it must be working. If you are wondering how all the slip dresses fit in to a fall collection... I haven’t a clue but as far as this once dowdy brand skewing younger... well it does that in spades. One must admit that the fringe got a little out of hand but as whole, this collection will provide HUGE inspiration for the likes of H&M and Zara.

It occurs to me that the accessories have grown exponentially and far beyond the Burberry plaid. As any knowledgeable fashionphile can attest, it is not always the clothes or really rarely is the apparel that drives the brand, so accessories are likely a huge propellant.

Rather than bitch and moan and pull it apart, it is much easier to sit back and say enjoy this for what it is... this is fashion …  pure and simple... right or wrong... Good or bad...