Rumours always abound in the fashion world about a change of creative director, particularly right now with so many big jobs vacant, but Lee placed himself at the centre of Burberry’s turnaround plans. “We’ve worked together for two months now,” he said of his flourishing partnership with Schulman. “I feel a sense of American optimism from him, I enjoy his drive and positivity.
“In its heyday, Burberry had the leadership of an American CEO and a British designer,” he added, referring to the 2000s/ 2010s era when Yorkshireman Christopher Bailey and Angela Ahrendts led Burberry out of its chav doldrums to global design and business acclaim.
“We want the fashion show to feel like a proper vision,” Lee continued. “We need to find smart ways now to take the checks and the coats and evolve them into something that’s relevant in store.” Will this show be enough to power up the turnaround? Time will tell, but if any label is well-positioned to harness the current vogue for British style in all its glorious forms, it should be Burberry.