Burberry Reimagines Tradition: A Quiet Evolution of the Iconic Check

Burberry Creative Director Daniel Lee knows that when people think of the British heritage brand, they typically think of two things: trench coats and its trademark check pattern. That’s why, for Spring/Summer 2027, Lee specifically homed in on those signatures, getting creative with new ways to embrace the styles while still honoring their traditional origins.

That thesis took off at the top of the London Fashion Week show, when what at first seemed to be a flat wooden board featuring a pared-back version of the Burberry check opened into two panels, symbolizing the expansion of the 105-year-old motif and ushering in the first model. Emerging from the several-feet-high set, the initial look featured a dusty mauve knee-length trench with a bubble hem and billowing sleeves, looking less like outerwear and more like a mini dress. Beneath it, a pistachio button-up shirt complemented earrings of the same hue. Clutched under the model’s arm was a new version of the label’s Sloane bag, adorned in a reimagined gingham check by Celia Birtwell, the 85-year-old British textile artist commissioned by Lee.

“Where Burberry’s language is typically graphic, Birtwell’s drawings bring a sense of joy. Through her eyes, the House Check resolves into gingham, reduced still further into a stripe,” read the show notes. Lee added, “You can really feel the human hand in it. In the check, in the lines.”

The first look’s formula was repeated several times throughout the show, with varying details mixed and matched, such as the bubble hem swapped for a straight edge, or the blouse changed out for a crisp white version with tiny repeated floral embroidery. “Faces and florals disrupt traditional codes,” the show notes read. “It’s a creative collaboration rooted in experimentation. Constant exchange — something slightly off, as opposed to just pretty.”

Particularly experimental pieces included cropped high-shine taffeta raincoats with a gathered shawl-like collar, rather than a classic peak lapel design. Each was layered over sheer dresses and skirts covered in a rainbow of sequin-made flowers, paving the way for more intense pops of color in the collection, which the show notes called “more character-driven than ever.”

Vivid monochromatic moments of sunshine yellow, rich navy, cherry red, olive green, and creamsicle orange each popped amidst the collection’s baseline palette of creams, nudes, and grays — a choice the show notes describe as a “puncture” via Birtwell’s prints. More slightly tweaked ideas came in the shape of bent half-tucked shirt collars beneath cartoonish graphic-embellished sweaters, silver stud-covered car coats, and mid-length jackets plastered with dozens of enamel buttons featuring faces.

As the sounds of David Bowie echoed within the vast venue (in a press release, Lee said he selected the artist’s music because he “always managed to find the ‘humanity in the experiment’”), other basics were given the Burberry-by-Lee treatment. Simple shorts with elastic waistbands were crafted from soft leather, while khaki-colored shift dresses were zhushed with trompe l’oeil asymmetrical belts.

“This is classic Burberry utility made easy. Clean lines allow the richness of the technique to come to the fore,” the show notes continued. “There’s volume throughout — but the lightweight fabrication allows it to take up space without ever feeling heavy.”

“Nothing is overly pressed or pristine,” wrote Lee in a statement. “There’s an intentional imperfection: the idea of owning a piece, living in it.”

Below, see more highlights from the Burberry Spring/Summer 2027 show.