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Burberry's Got a Brand New Neck
By: Godfrey Deeny
Photos by Gruber-FWD
Milan, Jun 16, 2002/FWD/ --- When the talented young designer Christopher Bailey was hired
last year at Burberry, he made clear that his goal was to tap into elements of British culture
to reinvigorate the brand.
Judging from Bailey's amusing and technically inventive Milan runway debut with Burberry
Monday night, he's on the right path.
"I was thinking of English schoolboys as well as punk, not really any particular cultural
movement," Bailey told FWD after the show, held in a charming mid-century cinema.
The big news in the collection was the clever way Bailey played with necklines to create
some genuinely original clothes.
Employing Burberry's rich archive of snaps and buckles, Christopher sent out some coats and
jackets in printed leather, dry wool and moleskin with collars that rolled up around the neck
in an arty yet practical manner.
The overall mood was young, with hirsute models dressed in striped polo necks under
unbuttoned shirts like undergraduates about town.
Happily, Bailey kept clear of the label's trademark plaid, which had grown dangerously
ubiquitous, limiting the print to just one impressive faded leather tote in practically the
last passage of the show.
Bailey also showed some attractive soft leather backpacks and amusing corduroy shoes, even
if one could hardly imagine them surviving an wet English winter, and a couple of pinstripe
jackets with stitching that made them look nearly unhemmed.
Yes, there is life after plaid.
Burberry Menswear
Burberry Menswear
Burberry Menswear
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