When it was announced that Daniel Lee would be replacing Riccardo Tisci as Burberry creative director back in September 2022 (lightyears ago by fashion’s speedy standards), the Bradford-born, CSM-grad declared that “together with the team, we will write the exciting next chapter for this legendary British luxury brand, continuing its historic heritage”, before adding that he was “excited to be returning to London”.
Well, it looks like Lee has very much stuck to his word, enlisting a who’s who of Great British heavyweights for his first ever Burberry campaign. The shoot, lensed by Tyrone Lebon, sees stars such as Shygirl, Skepta, John Glacier and Liberty Ross frollicking in various London locations, and even features an ever-so elegant swan paddling around on the banks of the Thames.
Elsewhere, acting icon and octogenarian Vanessa Redgrave strikes a pose in front of the Trafalgar Square lions, England footballer Raheem Sterling stops to smell the roses and Oasis-offspring Lennon Gallagher sports the classic Burberry nova check. John Glacier also scores and narrates an accompanying video, in which she can be heard reciting “let it rain and let it pour, so cue the showers now”. Extremely fitting for a return to London!
The new direction seems to herald a return to the brazenly British Burberry of yesteryear. Contrastingly, Tisci favoured a more internationalist approach, with his first campaign including the likes of Anok Yai, Sora Choi, Natalia Vodianova, Rianne van Rompaey, and Irina Shayk. Now, Lee returns to the aesthetics preferred by Christopher Bailey, creative director before Tisci – but interprets them through a modern lens.
Whereas Bailey enlisted a cast of young, WASP-y private school kids to front his campaigns, Lee looks set to cast his net wider, in a generally more inclusive fashion. Burberry has always been a lightning rod for class analysis in British popular culture, so it’ll be interesting to see how this approach translates in 2023.
The new shots also feature a brand new house logo, doing away with Tisci’s sans-serif, modernist interpretation, returning to a typeface reminiscent of the brand’s heritage values.
Daniel Lee’s Burberry debut is scheduled for February 20 during London Fashion Week.
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