It's finally happened: Daniel Lee's long-awaited return to the catwalk has materialised in Burberry's much-anticipated Fall/Winter 2023 collection, one that clarified the myriad doubts about the direction the British brand will take in the coming seasons but that also inevitably raised new ones. Is Lee the perfect fit for Burberry? Why are there so many ducks
Since the announcement of the British designer's arrival at the brand in September, fashion people have been wondering what would become of Burberry in his hands. In perhaps one of the most anticipated catwalk shows of the season, Daniel Lee gave us his answers in fifty-five looks. With the sneak peeks on Instagram, we saw how the presence of the classic trench coat and checks in the campaign represent a connection with the essence and roots of the house, and how the recovery of the legendary Prorsum logo, discarded during the Riccardo Tisci era, represents a return to the origins.
However, knowing Daniel Lee as we know him thanks to his extensive career but above all thanks to his time at Bottega Veneta, where, as we all know, he reformed the foundations of a classic brand and transformed it into the viral and media phenomenon that it is today, it was to be expected that his debut at Burberry would not remain a recovery of codes but that we would witness a transformation of the same, and so it has been.
Colour is one of Lee's great friends, and a wide range of it was present not only in the classic Haymarket check but also in the particular duck print seen in several of the looks. Along with the fun duck-shaped woven beanie with long legs framing the model's face or the sandals with fur soles that borderline look like some sort of duck legs, it's inevitable to wonder what the reason is for these animals on the catwalk. Ducks are in parks, on lakes, and outdoors. Burberry is a brand that shines in these spaces, ones in which the well-to-do wearers can enjoy their days off in the English countryside, and it is this spirit that it wants to emphasise with these birds.
With the mix of colour, fun references, and garments in formats other than the usual classics, such as baggy trousers, oversize jackets, and trench coats with lighter cuts than on other occasions, the brand's target audience has broadened towards a younger public more inclined towards streetwear, giving the garments a utilitarian and functional character, one of its objectives for this collection. The graphic T-shirts with different motifs, among which you can read “Wind of Change,” reaffirm this aesthetic twist.
A familiar green peeks through a T-shirt under an intentionally open jacket, and a flashback to “green, Bottega, Daniel Lee” is unavoidable. Only a few minutes later, a succession of eight looks – where the star is the blue that takes us out of this trip to the past, a colour that our brain must learn to identify in the same way as the green – reads: "blue, Burberry, Daniel Lee."
However, knowing Daniel Lee as we know him thanks to his extensive career but above all thanks to his time at Bottega Veneta, where, as we all know, he reformed the foundations of a classic brand and transformed it into the viral and media phenomenon that it is today, it was to be expected that his debut at Burberry would not remain a recovery of codes but that we would witness a transformation of the same, and so it has been.
Colour is one of Lee's great friends, and a wide range of it was present not only in the classic Haymarket check but also in the particular duck print seen in several of the looks. Along with the fun duck-shaped woven beanie with long legs framing the model's face or the sandals with fur soles that borderline look like some sort of duck legs, it's inevitable to wonder what the reason is for these animals on the catwalk. Ducks are in parks, on lakes, and outdoors. Burberry is a brand that shines in these spaces, ones in which the well-to-do wearers can enjoy their days off in the English countryside, and it is this spirit that it wants to emphasise with these birds.
With the mix of colour, fun references, and garments in formats other than the usual classics, such as baggy trousers, oversize jackets, and trench coats with lighter cuts than on other occasions, the brand's target audience has broadened towards a younger public more inclined towards streetwear, giving the garments a utilitarian and functional character, one of its objectives for this collection. The graphic T-shirts with different motifs, among which you can read “Wind of Change,” reaffirm this aesthetic twist.
A familiar green peeks through a T-shirt under an intentionally open jacket, and a flashback to “green, Bottega, Daniel Lee” is unavoidable. Only a few minutes later, a succession of eight looks – where the star is the blue that takes us out of this trip to the past, a colour that our brain must learn to identify in the same way as the green – reads: "blue, Burberry, Daniel Lee."
