When most people think of a classic Burberry product, the first thing that springs to mind is outerwear — the brand's trench style, to be precise, which they've been manufacturing for over a century, kitting out Brits for the UK's so-often-drizzly weather. For AW25, Lee went back to the brand’s outdoors roots, showing a collection that was heavy on great coats, but also provided plenty of other pieces to see Burberry customers through from leisurely autumn walks to glamorous dinner parties.
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True to form, the house decked out this season’s Tate Britain venue with a super starry crowd — Lauryn Hill, Kim Catrall, Jodie Turner Smith, etc — but the most exciting celebrity appearances happened on the runway. The casting was fantastic: a who’s who of on-screen aristos (Saltburn’s Sir James Catton! The Crown’s Princess Margaret! Downton Abbey’s Countess Cora Crawley!), classic British It models (Karen Elson, Naomi Campbell, Erin O’Connor) and new guard names (Lila Moss, Kai-Isaiah Jamal).
During his time at Burberry, Lee has often cited the British countryside as a key influence, something that really shone through in this focused collection, which had a rich autumnal colour palette; this season, specifically, Lee was inspired by the luxury of the UK's stately homes. 'We folded country house interiors into contemporary dress codes,' he said. 'I was struck by the craftsmanship and those lavish fabrics and swatches of hand-painted wallpapers and of all the furnishing fabrics, handmade carpets and sumptuous, somewhat faded tapestries.'
It was Lee’s strongest collection since joining the house: there was lots of great capes and coats, with the brand’s signature trenches reimagined in leather, wool and velvet brocade; shown alongside a quilted floral printed jacket-and-skirt set, a barn coat trench, and shaggy wool capes. Many models carried brollies instead of bags, a nod to the house’s heritage as a raincoat maker, while others had thistles pinned to the lapels of their jackets, another nod to the traditional house codes.
The velvet fabric was also used for a number of jewel-toned tailored sets and Bohemian floaty dresses that looked effortless layered over slouchy riding boots. Other models wore tartan kilt-trousers, or jodhpurs tucked into thigh-high boots, cosily wrapped up in ultra-chunky scarves and aviator bombers, with sequined and tinsel-esque numbers, as well as feather-fringed dresses peppered in and among the winter staples — perfect for those aforementioned dinner parties (whether they be in a crumbling old countryside mansion or a hot new restaurant opening in central London).
Burberry's mascot, the Knight, which Lee resurrected when he rolled out the brand's new logo in 2023, also attended the show, hobnobbing with the celebs before taking its front row seat next to actor Nicholas Hoult. It was a reminder that Burberry is at its best when its heritage is front and centre.
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