Betting on a Cool Britannia Summer
Review of Burberry Spring 2026 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Soundtrack of the summer, diverse energy, festival ready
If Daniel Lee’s fall 2025 collection was themed around retreating to ones country pile to escape the ‘Big Smoke’, then spring 2026 will find the offspring of those Lords and Ladies of the manor partying in the next field over as Burberry is set own festival season once again. As todays show notes attest, music and fashion have always maintained a reciprocal connection and the country comes alive in the summer.
Buoyed by the success of campaigns celebrating the ‘Best of British’ (prior to the subverting of the flag to suit a divisive political agenda and who actually gets to say they are British) which pulled in British creative talent from all walks of life, including portraits of ordinary people (from news reporters to students) who love Burberry, Lee has looked back at quintessential British past times to shore up the goodwill that is beginning to once again build for the heritage brand. Trips to the seaside, partnerships with The Newt country estate in Somerset, the leisurely pursuits of the chattering classes such as tennis and sailing, and the spirit of nineties festival-goers who made Glastonbury what it is today, were channeled via IT Girl Alexa Chung, Oasis offspring Gene Gallagher, and Godfather of Drum & Bass Goldie. And in tonights closing show for another season of London fashion week, Lee once again formally declared his intention to own the summer festival scene.
The spring collection, presented aptly under a tented canopy depicting blue skies and a blanket of sand, rather than the 1990s, were a throwback to the free loving 1960s and 70s as Lee took us on an acid trip over 60 years in the making. No doubt the indomitable wardrobes of the flower children who came of age at the time had pride of place on the creative directors moodboard for next season, the notes also spoke of ‘Sun and cloud motifs…embroidered on shirts and trousers, while flower-power daisies and ditsy prints evoke a summer garden in bloom’. His evolution of fringed outerwear from fall continued with a turquoise trench coat, whipstitched with said fringing along the collar offering a nice update instead of the atypical western aesthetic often chosen by festival-goers. And retailers across the globe are likely to fight it out to stock the embellished cropped hem trousers, as when the style was last popular in the early 2000s it made the weekend rotation of Boomers, Gen Xers and Millennials alike, becoming a must-have best-seller across several markets.
It is always good to see a creative director at a brand like Burberry play with house codes, and here in particular it was in the recolouring of the classic check, which became an expression of the ‘new signatures’ in rainwear the notes referred to. Moving on the brands bread-and-butter, coated trench coats came in multi-tones of green, pink and blue checks, paisley jacquards, snakeskin and a refreshing take on washed and raw denim, just waiting to be snapped up by Gen Zers come spring.
THE DIRECTION
THE QUOTE
Music is about self-expression, originality and belonging,
from festivals and stadiums to open-air concerts, every summer the UK comes to life with style and sound…Musicians have always been pioneers – fearless in the way they dress and sound…A legacy you’ll see in the looks, cast and styling.’Daniel Lee, chief creative officer, Burberry
THE WRAP UP
Finding his stride at Burberry, Lee will surely look to this collection to continue the early signs of a turnaround and return the British heritage house to profitable growth after a rocky few years when the brand appeared to have lost its way (not helped by alienating its core customers with eye-watering price increases). It may not be a wholesale cause for celebration but there are certainly green shoots to be found, much of which can be accredited to the marketing team who have managed the almost impossible task of uniting customers across the generational divide and reminding the country and Burberry’s many fans across the globe why sometimes British is often best.
