Burberry is unveiling a new identity under the supervision of new creative director Daniel Lee after the fashion house purged its social media accounts over the weekend.
With the new campaign, Burberry reinvigorates its relationship with modern Britain, shooting between London icons Trafalgar Square and the Albert Bridge as well as boasting a diverse ensemble of British talents such as; rappers Shygirl, Skepta, and John Glacier; actress Vanessa Redgrave; footballer Raheem Sterling; and models Lennon Gallagher and Liberty Ross. Korean actress Jun Ji-Hyun is also included.
However, anyone eager to see some of Lee’s Burberry creations will have to wait as former creative director Riccardo Tisci’s old designs were used in the current advertising campaign. Although Lee helped conceptualize the campaign and curate the edit, his creations for the British house won’t be made public until his debut runway collection at London Fashion Week this February.
Alongside the campaign, the British house revamped its original logo: The classic Burberry Equestrian Knight, which was the winning entry in a public design competition in 1901. In the update, the knight now waves a flag that reads “Prorsum”, Latin for “Forward”—the equestrian knight was completely eliminated from Burberry’s logo under Tisci’s reign in 2018. The house also unveiled a new typeface: longer, curved letters in contrast to the blocky sans-serif mark by Tisci also—It’s a new direction indeed.
Since joining the company in April of last year, CEO Jonathan Akeroyd has made “Britishness” a key component of the brand’s strategy. Due to his previous role as creative director at Bottega Veneta in 2018, Lee reoriented the rather understated leather goods company as a core element of the elevated high-fashion hype train, having turned green into a signature and winning praise from celebrities; because of this, Akeroyd is counting on Lee to infuse the brand with new life, elevating the brand’s cachet, and using Burberry’s national character to stand out in the competitive industry and saturated market. The luxury fashion house wants to increase yearly revenues to £5 billion.
Header image: Daniel Lee’s first Burberry campaign with rapper John Glacier, courtesy of Burberry