Burberry chose the middle of Paris Fashion Week to announce the appointment of its new Chief Creative Officer, Riccardo Tisci.
Fitting, perhaps, given that Tisci was once at the helm of Parisian luxury behemoth, Givenchy.
For a moment, the British brand has taken the spotlight off the heavy-hitting French labels showing this week. Which is presumably the point. You can forget any ideas of Tisci bringing the dark romanticism that he brought to the distinctly French Givenchy to Burberry. Whatever's going on in Paris, it's all about the latter - a self-described "luxury brand with distinctly British values." Got that? Distinctly British.
That's perhaps why Tisci is a more obvious choice than initially thought.
He moved to London aged just 17, and was educated at Central Saint Martins - a bastion of British design. "I wanted to grow up, and London was where I wanted to be," he told i-D in 2014. It's where he found his family – his close-knit community of collaborators and friends; where he met best friend and muse, model Mariacarla Boscono. And its influence was prevalent in his work (his Spring 2016 pre-collection for Givenchy, one of his last, was also shot on the city's streets).
Tisci follows Burberry CEO, Marco Gobbetti (formerly of Celine at LVMH) to the house, seeing the two reunited, having first worked together when Gobetti was President and CEO of Givenchy from 2004 – 2008.
Of the appointment, Gobbetti says:
'I am delighted that Riccardo is joining Burberry as Chief Creative Officer. Riccardo is one of the most talented designers of our time. His designs have an elegance that is contemporary and his skill in blending streetwear with high fashion is highly relevant to today's luxury consumer. Riccardo's creative vision will reinforce the ambitions we have for Burberry and position the brand firmly in luxury.'
Tisci is equally excited about his new endeavour:
'I am honoured and delighted to be joining Burberry. I have an enormous respect for Burberry's British heritage and global appeal and I am excited about the potential of this exceptional brand.'
As for what we can expect from Burberry under Riccardo Tisci, the designer has always reflected the energy of city streets, marrying it with a gothic sensibility that infused his work with a dark romanticism. He became a favourite of everyone from Kanye and Jay-Z (designing the album artwork for Watch the Throne), to Marina Abramovic. And let's not forget Kim Kardashian.
There's one thing we can be sure of - whatever he does, everyone will be watching. And it'll certainly bring something new to the quintessentially British label.
