Designer A-Z

Burberry Prorsum

Spring/Summer 2010

SHOW SCHEDULES

By Avril Mair

There were crash barriers, police cars, floodlights.

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There were celeb-seeking crowds and a red carpet. Burberry Prorsum returned to London last night with the biggest, starriest show the city has seen in this 25th anniversary Fashion Week. After an absence of more than a decade, showing instead in Milan, Britain’s most important luxury brand closed the womens wear collections with a triumphant celebration of their heritage, based round the house’s iconic trench coat. ‘It was sexy!’ exclaimed Victoria Beckham, who had flown in from LA especially for the show. ‘It was short! Of course I loved it!’ With a stellar front row that included current campaign star Emma Watson, Mary-Kate Olsen, Freida Pinto, Alexa Chung, Gwyneth Paltrow, Liv Tyler, Bruce Weber, Mario Testino and the world’s most important fashion editors, expectations were high. But designer Christopher Bailey – who has led Burberry to impressive profits over the past eight years - didn’t disappoint. He put on a poetic and seductive catwalk spectacle, transforming the trench into a glamorous thigh-skimming mini, fastening the waist with a leather belt that paid homage to the brand’s military origins, pairing the coat with a tiny little skirt of twisted chiffon and high heeled ankle boots. ‘I just wanted to play with it,’ said a visibly elated Bailey backstage, surrounded by models in deluxe, desirable and very modern versions of this classic British piece. ‘Amazing! Just amazing!’ enthused Emma Watson, as silver confetti showered down on the audience. It was a fitting finale for a week that has shown the world just how great British design is. Bravo!