Almost as soon as Daniel Lee's abrupt exit from Bottega Veneta was announced, rumours began to swirl about where he was headed next. Then came the news that Riccardo Tisci, chief creative officer at Burberry, would end his five year tenure at the British heritage House, and in the days following, fashionphiles across the globe started to put the pieces together, right before Burberry announced Lee's new appointment as chief creative officer of the Brand. Now, in anticipation of the upcoming Fall Winter 23 fashion weeks, Daniel Lee has released his first campaign for Burberry.
The campaign was released following a move of archiving everything on the brand's existing social media accounts to provide a "clean slate" for the launch, replacing it with Lee's new look. The first, and most noticeable aspect of the forthcoming creative direction for the House, is the updated logo. When Tisci joined the House back in 2018, he had the Burberry logo adjusted to a singular, bold font, and a compressed "TB", nodding to Thomas Burberry's legacy. Now, in a tribute to the brands archive, Lee replaces the bold logo with Burberry’s famous Equestrian Knight Design, (Tisci removed the Equestrian Knight during his rebrand) dating back to 1901 and last updated in 1999.
The Knight carries a flag that reads "prorsum" meaning "forwards", nodding to Burberry's previous diffusion line, Prorsum, which was consolidated back into Burberry RTW in 2016 under Christopher Bailey.
The campaign features a handful of British talent, from John Glacier, Shygirl and Skepta, to actor Vanessa Redgrave, models Lennon Gallagher and Liberty Ross, and footballer Raheem Sterling, alongside Jun Ji-hyun, one of Burberry's more recent brand ambassadors. Lensed by English photographer Tyrone Lebon, the cast poses in front of London landmarks including Trafalgar Square and Albert Bridge, clad in Burberry's signature pieces.
The images certainly feel very Daniel Lee. Flash film photography, much of it at night, harks back to some of Lee's most prolific early campaigns at Bottega Veneta. As for the clothing? They have not yet been reimagined by him. His first designs for the House will be revealed on February 20 at London Fashion Week, with what appears in the campaign, pieces from previous collections, curated by Lee.
An ode to Britain, an ode to Burberry. We look forward to seeing Lee's vision at the Legacy House fully realised at the end of the month. Watch the video for the campaign below.
