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SS21; Major Moment | Burberry
“Blue is the new beige” – was the phrase uttered by Burberry’s Riccardo Tisci.
For the label’s newest offering, the designer sought undersea inspiration.
He noted that the collection was a love story between a mermaid and a shark – little elements of each, one can see dotted throughout.
But the metaphor goes much deeper than that.
Tisci spent his lockdown back at his family home near Lake Como, gardening with his 92-year old mum.
This experience gave him the time to reflect and reminded him of family times and how far he had come as a designer.
And in that way, one can see the dark juxtaposition between the childlike innocence of the mermaid, and the aggressive, cutthroat nature of the shark; maybe representative Tisci’s romance with the industry).
There was also an element of loneliness, evidenced by the presentation taking place in an expanse of nature, that Tisci said he felt; that maybe we all felt, or are feeling in lockdown.
It was an honest collection.
Tisci said this dread of loneliness forced him to be appreciative of his successes and drove him to want to be more creative and to really do his best.
And that’s just what he did.
There were lots of layered pieces, a real mix of the classic design elements and street style that Tisci loves to play with; signature Burberry trenches spliced with other garments as though ripped by the shark itself, flouncy shell-shaped dresses, and glistening netted pieces, all adding to the whimsy of the story.
But the criticisms lay in the fact that it was arguably more ‘Tisci’ (read dangerously edgy) than ‘Burberry’ (read classic British sensibility)…but now, when brands need more than just pretty clothing to survive, is a little personality such a bad thing?
See the rest of the collection here.
Enjoy!
xx
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