Burberry’s S/S 2021 Pre-Collection

A lookbook in celebration of the Burberry community.

As the fashion world hastens efforts to keep pace with a fast, smart, and mean digitalized climate, Riccardo Tisci has taken cue in the wake of coronavirus shutdowns. Today, he unveils Burberry’s Spring/Summer 2021 Pre-Collection as a carousel of images, 20 looks to count, playing his hand in a calculated blend of street and sartorial savoir-faire.

“This season, I wanted to draw upon the familiar, the things that bring us comfort and strength,” Tisci said in a press release. “I returned to what first inspired me in the Burberry heritage house codes…but revisited them with a new perspective, incorporating elements of both sophistication and street through the lens of the outdoors.”

Snubbing the typical mise en scène of a buzzy marketing push, the heritage house released the collection sans media-blitz, gaggles of models, and photographers with their deft click of a camera, yet rather deployed the Burberry team to bask in the clothes as their own. “I called upon the incredible talent at Burberry to open their doors and be a part of this journey – each interpreting the looks in their own unique way outside in the landscapes of London and beyond,” said Tisci.

Beth, in retail, stares us down from outside her door in Crowthorne, Massimo of accessories design grins off his steps in Hackney. It’s nearly mimetic of a tribute to their unhailed efforts that lead daily life to its usual tune – something like the unseen heroes of everyday that have come to light since the onset of cornavirus in March.

And the clothes are hardly lost on their models, they’re all but elevated. S/S 2021 has modernized the trench, the pleats, and the corset, has reworked the tartan and graffitied love print, making what’s stayed the same, the Pocket Bag in Horseferry canvas, feel utterly new. A grain de poudre wool suit hides a velvet bustier, while gabardine outerwear is used so liberally it makes its way to endow a pair of longline shorts. Varsity appliqués scale the breast of bombers and barn jackets, wool houndstooth bisects the running length of a leggy sports-stripe, and English roses climb the silk crepe de chine in Look 15. Diamond quilting, argyle patterns, cashmere sweats and marigold yellows give Tisci’s runway one with energy – evocative of the past, but modernized to the times.

“I am so proud of this collection which not only reflects and celebrates the unique codes that make the house, but also the diversity of talent that represents our Burberry community, bringing the magic of the Burberry world to life.” Luckily, we’ve all become front-row audience to the British House’s joie de vivre.

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