In fashion, icons rarely need introduction. But occasionally, they deserve a re-framing. With its latest campaign, Burberry turns the lens back onto the garment that helped define the House: the trench coat.
Titled The Trench: Portraits of an Icon, the campaign arrives as Burberry marks its 170th anniversary, celebrating a piece that has endured for well over a century. Originally born from Thomas Burberry’s invention of gabardine in 1879 – a weather-resistant fabric that transformed outerwear – the trench remains one of fashion’s most recognisable silhouettes, balancing practicality with effortless elegance.
Under the creative direction of Chief Creative Officer Daniel Lee, the campaign strips the trench back to its essence through a series of intimate black-and-white portraits photographed by Tim Walker. The images feel both timeless and immediate: collars turned up against the wind, belts loosely tied, each subject wearing the coat in their own way. It’s less about styling and more about character – the trench acting as a canvas for individual expression.
Lee assembled a cast of 23 figures spanning film, music, sport and fashion, forming a cross-generational snapshot of contemporary culture. Among them are Kate Moss, Jonathan Bailey, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Little Simz, Kid Cudi and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley – alongside athletes, actors and musicians from across the globe. Together, they offer distinct interpretations of the same wardrobe staple, reaffirming the trench’s unique ability to move between worlds.
Alongside the portraits, a documentary film captures unscripted moments between the cast and crew, set to Blur’s Sing. The result is an atmospheric tribute to modern Britain – creative, confident and outward-looking – echoing the cultural resonance the trench has carried for generations.
The campaign also spotlights Burberry’s expanded Heritage Collection, which revisits signature silhouettes including the Kensington, Waterloo and Chelsea trench coats. Each piece is still crafted in England at the Castleford factory, where specialist tailors have produced Burberry rainwear for more than five decades, using cotton gabardine woven in Yorkshire.
More than a product story, Portraits of an Icon is a reminder of the trench’s enduring cultural life. Practical yet expressive, rooted in heritage yet endlessly reinterpreted, the coat continues to prove that some garments don’t simply survive fashion’s cycles – they define them.
Explore Burberry's full offering of the iconic Trench coat on the website and in your nearest boutique.
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