\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cFashion is not a solo business, it\u2019s a team sport,\u201d said Joshua Schulman, chief executive officer of Burberry, citing a \u201chigh-performance culture grounded in creative and commercial alchemy\u201d as a key goal for propelling the British luxury brand, and describing its current creative director Daniel Lee as a \u201cgreat partner\u201d in that effort.<\/p>\n
\n\tSpeaking at the WWD Apparel and Retail CEO Summit in New York City, Schulman said he long had eyes on Burberry when he was leading such diverse companies as Bergdorf Goodman, Jimmy Choo and Coach.<\/p>\n
\n\tEarlier in his career, when he was overseeing women\u2019s merchandising at Gucci, he collaborated with Christopher Bailey, the longtime chief creative officer of Burberry, who was then women\u2019s design director of the Italian label under Tom Ford.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cBurberry had a tradition of creative and commercial alchemy and that goes back to Rose Marie Bravo [former Burberry CEO] when she hired Christopher,\u201d Schulman related to Samantha Conti, WWD\u2019s London bureau chief, during a fireside chat. \u201cThat became a real priority for me [when I became CEO] because the business was underperforming.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cOne of the first meetings that I had at Burberry was with all of our design, product development and merchandising teams to bring them together to share the state of the business and what we needed to do together,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\n\tFast forward two years to 2026, and Schulman continues to apply his Burberry Forward strategy, which juxtaposes 170 years of history with the unexpected.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cBurberry has always been at its best when it balances the heritage with innovation,\u201d Schulman said. \u201cOne of the key things that we did was focus on this idea of timeless British luxury as part of our brand.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cNow that we have laid the foundations, we have this opportunity to add additional layers of innovation to surprise and delight,\u201d he continued. \u201cWe will continue to always be timeless, but also disrupting expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tA recent example was Burberry\u2019s spring 2027 runway show during London Fashion Week last September, when Lee unveiled a collaboration with celebrated British textile designer Celia Birtwell.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI love reading about fashion and retail, and one of my favorite books is the \u2018Ossie Clark Diaries,’\u201d he related, referring to the 1998 book gathering the British fashion designer\u2019s personal journals and sketches and delving into his marriage with Birtwell from 1969 to 1974. \u201cSo when when Daniel suggested to me that he was reaching out to Celia, I was really enchanted. As that idea came to life, I think all of us got very excited about that. I didn\u2019t actually meet Celia until the day she was at the runway show, and it was really just a wonderful honor for her to be there\u2026.I think that created a lot of joy and surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tBurberry also recently collaborated with British brand Hunza G, cofounded by Georgiana Huddart, on a swimwear collection focused on its proprietary, ultra-stretch Original Krinkle fabric.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThat was a surprise. And yet it also relates so much to our DNA, because Georgiana stands for woven innovation with Hunza G,\u201d Schulman said. \u201cThomas Burberry founded the company, and then he invented gabardine [for trenchcoats]. So there\u2019s a connection.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s no longer about just reminding people about Burberry\u2019s heritage, but how to express that within today\u2019s culture for today\u2019s customer,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\n\tAsked about plans for 2027, Schulman was shy on specifics but hinted that \u201cit\u2019s about amplifying the drumbeat that we have had, and it\u2019s this idea of being timeless while disrupting expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tCapping off its anniversary year, Burberry is gearing up for \u201cEver Forward\u201d in Shanghai, billed as Burberry\u2019s largest brand exhibition ever.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt will be open for a month in a location near the Bund, and it will be celebrating 170 years of Burberry,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\n\tSchulman acknowledged the challenging market conditions. \u201cBut you know, many of the breakthroughs happen in tough times.\u2026Burberry has endured and withstood for 170 years, and so we are optimistic and looking forward. We want to build on the success that we\u2019re having with Burberry Forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tLaunched in 2024, the Burberry Forward turnaround strategy was designed to reverse slumping sales and restore profitability by shifting from ultra-high-end fashion experiments and re-centering the brand on timeless British luxury embodied in trenchcoats and other outerwear styles, scarves and classic check patterns.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe\u2019re now bringing a new level of inspiration to all of our touchpoints and igniting our brand message around the world,\u201d he said, citing the upcoming transformation of its Regent Street flagship in London, dubbed Burberry House, as a primary example.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe have looked at how we can unlock the original luster of this Grade II-listed building, and really let the history of the building be a backdrop for all of our all of our brand initiatives,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\n\tSchulman decided to layer on another historical artifact, the \u201cBurberrys\u201d clock that sat above its Haymarket headquarters for decades, more recently reassigned to its Horseferry House offices.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI thought, \u2018Why are we doing this just for ourselves? We should have this some place for our customers,\u2019\u201d he related, revealing that Burberry recently received planning permission to install it for public view right above the main facade entrance of Regent Street.<\/p>\n
\n\tAmong other features that take the new store beyond a retail space into cultural realms are the 1856 Gallery, which will host rotating exhibitions from the brand archives; the Trench Arcade, an immersive experience around outerwear designed for all types of weather, and the first Burberry Coffee and Tea cafe \u201cwith a famed British chef,\u201d Schulman teased.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe\u2019ll also have experiential, hospitality and archival elements throughout the store,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\n\tBurberry is currently the subject of an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert\u2018s Prince Consort Gallery that exalts the history of the trenchcoat, from its functional purpose during World War II to its recurrence on fashion runways.<\/p>\n
\n\tAn avid student of retail history, Schulman said he was particularly tickled by the old clothing labels incorporating global department store banners alongside the Burberry brand.<\/p>\n
\n\tNext up in its multiyear partnership with the museum is a refurbishment of its iconic Fashion Gallery at the V&A, to be unveiled in the fall of 2028 as The Burberry Gallery.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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