Burberry, the international luxury brand, introduced the new Burberry Prorsum Autumn / Winter Collections for Men and Women during Milan Fashion Weeks in January and February earlier this year.
January marked the launch of the Autumn / Winter 2007 / 2008 season for
Burberry with the new Burberry Prorsum Men's collection. Christopher Bailey, Burberry Creative Director, took his inspiration from the company's abundant heritage, commenting:
"Our rich Burberry archives were the starting point for this collection, inspired by Burberry's historic role in aviation, Shackleton's Antarctic expeditions and the strict military tailored uniforms of the British Sandhurst Military Academy."
Silhouettes for this
Autumn / Winter Burberry collection include strict tailored uniform shapes married with oversized expedition outerwear forms. Furthermore, the carefully chosen colour palette emphasises the military theme: anthracite, grey melange, pale grey, dark nickel, carbon, mid grey, silver, peat, sepia, airforce blue, naval blue, uniform blue, petrol blue, olive, pale olive, olive drab, khaki, mustard and cognac are predominantly featured.
The collection's inspiration is referenced once again through the fabric selection. Fabrics include flannel, felt, cotton flannel, boiled wool, heavy grain leather, shearling, technical quilted nylon, quilted plongé leather, silk shantung, silk jacquard, pressed wool, cashmere and cotton poplin.
Strong accessories complement the looks: unique and precious alligator and box calf totes and holdalls with strong brass and nickel hardware were featured alongside striking Brogue military boots.
British models from the current Spring/Summer Burberry campaign -- all part of the Burberry "family" -- were seen on the runway. Otis and Isaac Ferry, sons of British singer/songwriter Bryan Ferry, as well as Max Irons, son of British actor Jeremy Irons walked down the runway accompanied by powerful and evocative music such as the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby", Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" and the Boom Town Rats' "Diamond Smiles".
In February,
Burberry introduced the Prorsum Womenswear Autumn / Winter 2007 / 2008 collection.
For womenswear, the inspiration originated foremost from the company's equestrian knight logo, as Christopher Bailey explained: "Real British luxury, outerwear and the Burberry Prorsum knight were the starting points to this medieval inspired collection."
As for the men's collection, the women's colour palette calls to mind medieval hues: black, anthracite, charcoal, dark olive, khaki, airforce blue, dark nickel, antique rose, and bordeaux were all introduced.
A variety of rich fabrics are used, stretching from beautiful quilted pythons, to studded soft nappa leather and stitched patent leather, to shaved mink, to elaborate tapestry jacquards and fine lace. In addition, rich shear lings, metallic nylons, chain mail knits, chunky cashmere cables, ruffled chiffon, chintzed silks and glossy lingerie satins were introduced.
Ready-to-wear looks were completed by a selection of stunning accessories, such as striking gauntlet as well as hook and eye boots, studded and mesh leather sandals, as well as saddlery belts, hawking gloves, studded clutch bags and mesh belt bags.
Mirroring the men's show, models included British talent from the current Spring/Summer Burberry campaign such as Agyness, Keira Gormley and Lily Donaldson. The music Christopher Bailey selected were two songs by David Bowie, "Eight line poem" and "Lady Stardust", as well as The Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and Siouxsie and the Banshees' "The Passenger"
