Daniel Lee's Winter 2024 Burberry show was always going to be the highlight of this season's London Fashion Week – that's before anyone even stepped foot inside the house's gigantic eight-mast tent that was erected inside Victoria Park.
Firstly, Burberry is the only renowned British luxury house on the fashion week schedule this season.
Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, since Lee's arrival at Burberry in early 2023 the label has become one of the most exciting splendor outfits in the game thanks to the former Bottega Veneta creative director's hellbent insistence on taking it "back to its roots".
Whether that means replacing Burberry's lazy ass Sans-Serif logo with the more traditional Equestrian Knight, or taking inspiration from the Burberry archives for contemporary cutting-edge silhouettes, Lee has certainly rang in the changes. And to good effect, too.
The Bradford-born designer's Burberry show on February 19 was a shining example of the good work he's done at the brand so far, and undoubtedly his finest since his arrival.
As per there were duffle coats, field jackets, and archetypal Burberry trenches that appeared in a deep textured moleskin.
There were bags, shoes, and a myriad of scarves that arrived in a slew of neutral, earthy colors to give a sense of nature.
As has become customary with Lee's Burberry too, there was as much of a show off the runway as there was on it, with the front row awash with big name celebs like Skepta, Barry Keoghan, Peggy Gou, and Lil Yachty.
Like last season, Burberry also welcomed a handful of Premier League footballers to its show including Arsenal's Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard, Everton's Dele Alli, Chelsea's Ben Chillwell, and former Wales and Real Madrid striker, Gareth Bale.
During Lee's 18-month tenure at Burberry thus far, the designer has transformed the house into a beast that's a lot different to that of his predecessor Riccardo Tisci.
Lee’s Burberry is indisputably traditional, a far cry from Tisci’s image of the British label that saw the Italian designer revamp and modernize the Burberry image almost immediately after his arrival in 2018.
Lee’s Burberry is also incredibly British. By which I mean that Lee has purposely gone about rediscovering the brand’s roots.
For Lee, this means enlisting the hottest British talent in each of his campaigns to date, taking over London's Norman's cafe, revisiting epochal (and traditional) styles in each of his collections, and hosting his shows in inherently UK settings.
Everything Lee has worked towards thus far with Burberry was on show in east London on February 19.
It was traditional yet contemporary and a clear nod to the house's roots, but, most importantly for Lee anyway, it was also very, very British.
