Burberry S/S 2020 London Fashion Week Women's

Scene setting: Guests gathered inside the cavernous Troubador White City Theatre in West London, where seated on soft, bleacher style seating, they sat facing an expansive wall of mirror. As the show began, the mirror was raised to reveal a rusty catwalk and ceiling lined with a huge Victorian-inspired sound system. Reflection and Victoriana; they marked two overarching elements in Riccardo Tisci’s third collection for the 1856-founded British house. Tisci has long been obsessed with the Victorian gothic and romantic, and the collection was a chance for him to look back into Burberry’s own nineteenth century heritage (Thomas Burberry patented gabardine in 1888), in order to reinvent it’s modern codes.

Mood board: For his debut show for Burberry’ Tisci divided his take on British lifestyle neatly into sections, with evening and streetwear sections. For S/S 2020 he was focused on hybridised style, incorporating tailoring with sportswear, workwear with whimsy. For women, fringed silk shirts with hand-sketched monkey motifs were paired with sharp suit trousers and deconstructed trenchcoats with lace and silk dresses. For men, suits had hybrid sleeves formed from casual gingham poplin, hooded sweatshirts were layered with lace and overcoats had sporty toggle details. When it comes to Burberry’s customer of the future, they favour a modern mix.

Finishing touches: Equestrian motifs are a long standing element of a chic, bourgeois look which was an all-out trend on the A/W 2019 runway. For S/S 2020, Tisci introduced its new equestrian-inspired Anne handbag, featuring Thomas Burberry monogram hardware - an essential for those with a high end, ladylike sensibility.