22 September 2026 |
Daniel Lee looked to British textile artist Celia Birtwell to inform the collection.
What does it mean to make clothes people want to wear and live in? That seems to be a running theme this fashion month as designers offer emotional and intimate takes on dressing that feel intrinsic to the wearer. For Daniel Lee’s Burberry spring 2027 collection, it’s a question he grapples with. Per the show notes Lee desired “a return to the basis of things. To something instinctive. To something felt. Something true.” What that translated to was the work of British textile artist, Celia Birtwell whose prints defined the look of the 60s and 70s and informed this season. Seated in the front row, Birtwell looked on approvingly as the 61 look show unfolded.
Staged at Chelsea College of Arts, where Birtwell once taught, the opening look was a crinkled trench coat with a bubble hem. Layered underneath was a washed gray shirtdress with a delicate white print. It felt well worn, loved, and exactly what Lee wanted to convey — a human touch in a world overrun with A.I. pristineness. From there, the same dainty floral repeated in different hues like red, blue, yellow, and more be it on shirting or as skirts, sometimes teamed with stripes. The classic Burberry check is still present on overcoats but it’s also reinterepreted as a gingham, a fitting choice for warmer temperatures. To mix thingsn up: a little kookiness in the form of faces. That motif was found as pailettes covering a jacket, dangling off a bag as charms, adorning shoes, or seen on knits and silk separates.
As always, the show focuses on outerwear, including moments when the classic trench becomes an evening look. This time the idea was conveyed courtesy of embroideries and embellishments and the use of gauzy chiffons as well as colorful leather. But as seen throughout other shows this season, what constitutes a daytime versus nighttime look isn’t quite as clear, as designers blur the lines. Here, that pops again in moments like a sequined dress worn under a bomber or a heavily embellished dress tossed over a striped top and worn with casual shoes. Lee wanted everyhting to feel slightly off, as opposed to just pretty, down to the dressy moments.
Whether that same sensibilty will translate to the red carpet, a celebrity-filled front row was paying attention and assessing their options. There was British tennis star Jack Draper seated next to singer Sienna Spiro while across the way Gemma Chan chatted with Jonathan Bailey and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Further down the row Rosie Huntington-Whitley and Jason Statham along with Romeo Beckham and Kim Turnbull turned the night into a couple’s outing while Thai idol Bright rounded out the row (and earned plenty of screams outside!) One person missing? Central Cee. The rapper made a surprise appearance on the runway clad in a blue technical jacket and low slung black jeans, adding his signature swagger to the mix and proving that Lee still has plenty of tricks up his trenchcoat clad sleeves.
