Review of Burberry Spring 2026 Ad Campaign by Photographer Tim Walker with models Teyana Taylor, Jonathan Bailey, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Kristin Scott Thomas, Kid Cudi, Little Simz, Jack Draper, Eberechi Eze, Kendall Jenner, Kate Moss, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Karen Elson, Agyness Deyn, and Erin O’Connor
To mark its 170th anniversary, Burberry turns inward, centering its most enduring product in The Trench, Portraits of an Icon. Photographed by Tim Walker and featuring a wide-ranging cast including Kate Moss, Kendall Jenner, Naomi Campbell, and Little Simz, the campaign positions the trench coat as both artifact and living symbol—an object through which the brand’s identity is continually rehearsed and reasserted.
Rendered in stark black and white, the portraits strip away environmental context in favor of controlled studio compositions. Each subject is framed within a thick, hand-drawn border, a subtle gesture that recalls contact sheets or archival prints. This visual restraint directs attention toward gesture and posture: a tilted chin, a cinched belt, a coat slipping off the shoulder. The trench itself remains consistent, but its expression shifts with each wearer, suggesting adaptability without abandoning uniformity. Walker’s photography avoids his more theatrical tendencies, instead opting for clarity and discipline that aligns with the campaign’s archival undertone.
The casting functions as both a strength and a complication. The breadth of figures—from legacy supermodels to contemporary actors and athletes—extends the trench’s cultural reach, reinforcing its claim to universality. At the same time, the density of recognizable faces risks flattening individual impact; the images begin to blur into a sequence rather than a series of distinct statements. While each portrait is composed with intention, the repetition of format and styling creates a visual rhythm that occasionally borders on monotony.
Still, the campaign’s conceptual focus remains coherent. By removing narrative excess and foregrounding a single garment, Burberry reinforces the trench as a stable anchor within a shifting fashion landscape. There is little attempt to reinvent the icon; instead, the campaign reframes it through accumulation and iteration.
In this context, The Trench, Portraits of an Icon reads less as a celebration of novelty and more as an exercise in brand memory. It underscores Burberry’s reliance on continuity, presenting the trench not as a seasonal proposition, but as a fixed point—one that gains meaning through repetition rather than reinvention.
Photographer | Tim Walker
Models | Teyana Taylor, Jonathan Bailey, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Kristin Scott Thomas, Kid Cudi, Little Simz, Jack Draper, Eberechi Eze, Kendall Jenner, Kate Moss, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Karen Elson, Agyness Deyn, and Erin O’Connor