Scene setting: Last month, Burberry announced that Old Sessions House in Clerkenwell was to be the location of both its September show and ‘Here We Are’ – a photography exhibition tracing British life, and featuring the works of a renowned mix of artists. The 18th-century former courthouse boasts a grand columned exterior, while its interiors comprise a labyrinthine arrangement of connected rooms, a vast mezzanine and a grand dome modelled after the Pantheon in Rome. Guests entered the recently restored space, taking seat across a network of rooms lined with miscellaneous seating, from wooden stools to plastic chairs, and photographs by Martin Parr, Alasdair McLellan and more.
Mood board: Burberry revealed a collaboration with Russian streetwear supremo Gosha Rubchinskiy in June, made up of a series of S/S 2018 pieces featuring the Burberry check. Rubchinskiy’s models rocked full baseball cap-topped looks in the brand’s signature tartan, which evoked the nineties ‘chav’ era that the brand attempted to shake off way back when. For the brand’s September 2017 show, Christopher Bailey bought this look back in a big way. Offering a determinedly younger aesthetic, a majority of the eclectic looks were finished with check baseball caps, while Burberry’s iconic print was reimagined in raincoats and macs cut from translucent plastic. Models paired windbreakers with regimental garb, piled colourful knitwear on top of gauzy lace skirts, and layered sheer evening dresses over sporty t-shirts, styled with a new off-kilter sensibility.
Finishing touches: Emphasising the offbeat aesthetic of the collection, models – both men and women – sported oversized single earrings, sparkling with rhinestones. They also carried tartan bags resembling fabric vanity cases or oversized shoppers. These accessories spoke of the newer, younger, Burberry boy or girl, who grabs an earring, a trailing knitted scarf, a pair or spare knitted socks, and the nearest zip-up accessory before disappearing into the night.
