Burberry Presents Star-studded Moody Autumnal Collection

A person walks past a Burberry store undergoing refurbishment on New Bond Street in London, Britain, March 11, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
A person walks past a Burberry store undergoing refurbishment on New Bond Street in London, Britain, March 11, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
TT

Burberry Presents Star-studded Moody Autumnal Collection

A person walks past a Burberry store undergoing refurbishment on New Bond Street in London, Britain, March 11, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
A person walks past a Burberry store undergoing refurbishment on New Bond Street in London, Britain, March 11, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

Burberry's creative director, Daniel Lee, on Monday showed his third brief at London Fashion Week, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary, with an ode to the brand's outdoor heritage for the luxury house's autumn-winter 2024 collection.
Set in a dark marquee in London's Victoria Park where guests sat on big fluffy brown cushions, songs from late British singer Amy Winehouse set the mood for the night.
The star-studded show was attended by actress Olivia Coleman, US Vogue Editor in Chief Anna Wintour, model Jourdan Dunn, and Irish actor Barry Keoghan among others, Reuters.
Monday's show heavily featured outerwear and sporty silhouettes with bomber jackets and Burberry's iconic trench coat that sat alongside flowy beaded and velvet dresses.
It noticeably lacked the brand's new signature 'Knight Blue', the same color featured in its "takeover" of British department store Harrods this month.
Models walked down a grass runway on chunky-soled leather boots, parading leather and faux-fur coats in shades of muted green and brown, oversized stripy suit jackets and trousers with sipper detailing.
British models Naomi Campbell, Agyness Deyn and Lily Cole were among those sashaying on the catwalk.
Burberry's famous beige, black and red check was reimagined into the moody Autumnal color palette and featured on the inside of floor-sweeping skirts with long slits down the side.
Accessories included checked umbrellas, large canvas, leather and faux-fur bags in cream, brown and green - often adorned with gold detailing - and paired with scarves worn over the head.
Lee, who was behind the revamp of Italian fashion brand Bottega Veneta, is facing pressure to produce a winning collection for Burberry which is battling a slowdown in demand for luxury goods.
The 168-year-old company issued a warning on its profits in January, a setback for Chief Executive Jonathan Akeroyd who is seeking to reposition the brand as "modern British luxury".



Designer Rosita Missoni, Pioneer of Colored Knitwear, Dies Aged 93

Rosita Missoni poses before the Missoni Spring/Summer 2018 show at the Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy September 23, 2017. (Reuters)
Rosita Missoni poses before the Missoni Spring/Summer 2018 show at the Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy September 23, 2017. (Reuters)
TT

Designer Rosita Missoni, Pioneer of Colored Knitwear, Dies Aged 93

Rosita Missoni poses before the Missoni Spring/Summer 2018 show at the Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy September 23, 2017. (Reuters)
Rosita Missoni poses before the Missoni Spring/Summer 2018 show at the Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy September 23, 2017. (Reuters)

Italian designer Rosita Missoni, co-founder of the eponymous fashion house known for its bright and patterned styles, died on Thursday at the age of 93, a company official said.

She had launched the business in 1953 with her husband Ottavio Missoni, developing a brand which became popular for its colorful knitwear featuring geometric patterns and stripes, including the signature zigzag motif known as fiammato.

Born into a family of textile artisans close to the northern Italian town of Varese, Rosita studied modern languages.

On a trip to London in 1948 to improve her English, she met Ottavio, who was competing with the Italian 400 meters hurdles team at the Olympics in the city.

The Missoni brand gained international recognition and awards for its distinctive patterns and avant-garde use of textiles and an approach to fashion often compared to modern art.

It was also helped by what was dubbed the "battle of the bras" in 1967.

Missoni had been invited to show at the Pitti Palace in Florence but before the models went out on the runways Rosita noticed that their bras were visible through their tops, ruining the intended color and pattern effect.

She told the models to remove their bras but, under the runway lighting, their outfits became totally transparent and the incident caused a sensation.

They were not invited to return the next year but Missoni was quickly on the covers of big name fashion magazines such as Vogue, Elle and Marie Claire.

Their layered designs, full of patterns, caught the attention of a fashion world that was turning away from high fashion, and became the standard bearer of the so-called "put together" style.

When the company moved its base to the Italian town of Sumirago, north of Milan, the Missonis set up home next door, with most of their windows overlooking Rosita's beloved Monte Rosa mountains.

Rosita remained creative director for the womenswear collections until the late 1990s, when she passed the task on to her daughter Angela.

The couple suffered tragedy in 2013 when Vittorio Missoni, their eldest son and the company marketing director, was killed in a plane crash off the coast of Venezuela.

Ottavio died in May 2013 at the age of 92, four months after their son's plane had gone missing but before the wreckage had been found.

The brand expanded into home collections and hotels. In 2018 Italian investment fund FSI invested 70 million euros in the family-owned company in exchange for a 41% stake, aiming to strengthen the brand abroad.

Missoni picked Rothschild in 2023 as financial adviser to explore a potential sale of the family-owned company.