Burberry, Unplugged

Christopher Bailey Has Kept Britain’s Most Iconic Label on the Cusp With Digital Innovation and See-now, Buy-now Speed. His Latest Obsession? Gorgeously Old-school Craftsmanship. Zoe Wolf Meets the Fearless Adapter.

- Zoe Wolf

Since 2001, Christopher Bailey, the famously nice designer with the still-boyish looks and rolling Yorkshire accent, has rebooted Burberry as a brand known for firsts. As in, first to live-stream shows and debut right-off-the-runway pre-ordering (2009). First global luxury brand to feature ‘in-tweet’ purchasing (2014). And, this past September, first luxury house to embrace the new see-now, buy-now show strategy. Bailey himself, now 46, was among the first designers to sniff out the necessity of moving and thinking like a digital native. So, the shift in his design sensibility over the past two seasons, as he’s gone (beautifully) back to the hand to focus on slow, considered craftsmanship and provenance, seems like anything but creative caprice. When Bailey says, “It feels like the right moment for something that’s all about authenticity—in terms of work, craft, process, history, expressing something,” you know change is afoot.

Bailey’s creative shift is only one of the recent shake-ups at Burberry. After nearly three years in the unprecedented dual role of chief creative officer and CEO, running both the brand’s creative and business sides—a period that coincided with a slowdown in the Chinese retail boom that has taken a toll on almost every major luxury fashion label—Bailey has recently been joined at the helm by former Céline chairman and CEO Marco Gobbetti. The designer, who held his dual title until Gobbetti took over as CEO in July (at which point Bailey was renamed president and chief creative officer), recently told industry site