When it comes to fashion and the constantly evolving industry, Burberry has been at the forefront of innovation. One of the first brands to court a digital audience with broadcasts of its runway shows, engaging social media accounts and live campaign shoots, Burberry is now the first label to abandon the traditional runway show.
Instead of showing ready to wear collections for the next season, WWD reports that the British label will unveil direct-to-consumer collections. In lieu of a focus on press with previews of upcoming seasons, Burberry will stage a show around its latest collection. Once the show goes live, the collection will be available for purchase and Burberry will roll outs its accompanying advertisements.
Showing both womenswear and menswear together, Burberry will unveil its first seasonless collection in September. The label plans to stage two shows a year, each featuring seasonless ranges. The choice to go seasonless encompasses the needs of the global consumer.
Burberry chief creative and chief executive officer Christopher Bailey explains, “We’re a global company. When we stream that show, we’re not just streaming it to people who live in spring-summer climates; we’re doing it for all different climates. So I guess we’re trying to look both creatively and pragmatically at this.”
Discussing the significant change, Bailey continues, “The changes we are making will allow us to build a closer connection between the experience that we create with our runway shows and the moment when people can physically explore the collections for themselves.”
The designer adds, “Our shows have been evolving to close this gap for some time. From live-streams, to ordering straight from the runway, to live social media campaigns, this is the latest step in a creative process that will continue to evolve.”
Eliminating the gap between shows and the customer retail experience, Bailey shares, “I told the teams that we can’t expect a customer to understand our timings because, I mean, it’s silly, which is why we did runway made-to-order collections. You can’t talk to a customer and say, ‘We’re really excited, we’re going to stimulate you and inspire you, but you can’t touch it or feel it for another six months.’ In fashion we talk about ‘a moment,’ and what feels right for the moment. And I’ve always battled with that because the moment is when you’re showing it, but then you’ve got to kind of say is it the right moment five or six months down the line? I just struggled with it. So it’s just trying to say to the customers: ‘You’re really important to us. We’re serving you and we need to change our ways rather than expect you to do these things.'”
