In the show notes for his Fall Winter ’21 collection, revealed digitally today, Burberry chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci included a touching tribute to his mom, who singlehandedly raised him and his eight sisters. With such an impressionable and dedicated matriarch, it’s unsurprising that Tisci has “always been drawn to strong women”—and by proxy, creating the modern-day sartorial armor that they crave.
Tisci’s own strength has always lied in fierce, defiant silhouettes and outerwear (which makes him the perfect bedfellow for the purveyor of the world’s most famous coat.) Today’s collection, filmed at the brand’s London flagship, had “warriors” front of mind. “I wanted this collection to feel truly emblematic of the power of feminine energy,” he said, also nodding to Mother Nature and the new dawn of opportunity and beginnings she’s bringing with her post-COVID.
Tisci has used Mother Nature as a reference to underpin the menswear collection for Fall too, all while paying homage to the history of the brand and the craft its synonymous with. Today, this was seen in iterations on the union jack and through splashes of oversized plaid on capes and dresses. Offering a new take on outerwear, leather hoods peaked out from coats and deconstructed lapels hung nonchalantly from trench coats. Some also came with almost wing like details or fluttering cap sleeves, adding a sense of delicateness while the models stomped fiercely around the space. Similarly, it’s not what immediately springs to mind when you think of ‘armor’ but gold mermaid fish scales had a sort of chainmail effect on tops, dresses, and an overlay on a metallic trench: the perfect glossy exterior for a woman who’s really tough as nails on the inside.
Burberry notably went fur-free in 2018, and evidently Tisci has been hard at work defining this new era of more eco-friendly, alternative fur. No review of this collection would be complete without talking about the bunny tails on sumptuous white and black winter coats or the rabbit-like oversize totes that models trailed behind them. In many cultures, rabbits symbolize new beginnings, renewal, luck, and prosperity. The reference wasn’t lost on us, particularly when you consider that this felt like the most personal and self-assured collection Tisci has presented since he joined the brand in 2018.
See the full collection below:
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