Burberry ditches avant garde for accessible fashion after investors check out

Sometimes fashion shows are about what to wear to parties, and sometimes they are about money, national prestige, boardroom power struggles and the future of what was until recently one of Britain’s most valuable public companies.

At Burberry, London fashion week’s biggest name, the clothes on the catwalk were clues as to the next chapter in an unfolding fashion industry drama.

Burberry dropped out of the FTSE 100 this month with a valuation of £2.23bn, 56% down on what it was worth at the end of last year. In July, Joshua Schulman was installed as chief executive, a drastic attempt to reverse a long losing streak for the 168-year-old company.

The arrival of Schulman, who boosted the profits and profile of American brand Coach with affordable handbags, pointed to a change of direction at Burberry, which has struggled to win over high-end luxury shoppers. Schulman is expected to attempt to take Burberry to a wider audience, which means lower-entry price points and design that is accessible rather than avant garde.

In the foyer of the National Theatre, where a catwalk snaked past a front row packed with national treasures from Jerry Hall and Patsy Kensit to Olivia Colman and Declan Rice, the young creative director Daniel Lee provided a new twist in this tale.

Under intense pressure, Lee delivered his strongest collection to date. The fashion rumour mill holds that he is on the way out – but this was a confident collection, bold in its Burberry handwriting and refreshingly broad in appeal.

Backstage, Lee was bullish about the new era, enthusing about Schulman’s “American optimism, drive and positivity”. Alluding to the highly successful 00s partnership of Angela Ahrendts and Christopher Bailey, he said: “Burberry in its heyday enjoyed American CEO leadership with a British designer. Hopefully that’s a synergy we can revive.”

Customers at the accessible-luxury price point want pieces that are recognisable as designer. For Burberry, that means the check, which was all over this catwalk, in saddle bags and on tracksuits. “I really like the check,” Lee said. “I want to treat it as one of the most precious elements of the house, in the way that the trench is.”

The first piece on to the runway was a man’s jacket with trench detailing, but shortened and streamlined into a more wearable shape. The trench is a Burberry icon but men buy more jackets than coats. “We need to find smart ways to evolve Burberry beyond a runway collection to what works in stores,” said Lee. “Burberry is a coat brand, and a coat is something people invest in.”

Starmer turns heads at Edeline Lee show

Victoria Starmer’s wardrobe has been in the spotlight for the wrong reasons during London fashion week, with a row about whether the prime minister may have broken parliamentary rules over clothes bought for her by Labour donor Lord Alli.

To put a more positive spin on her interest in clothes, Starmer attended a show by Edeline Lee, the designer of the rose-red dress Starmer wore for her podium appearance at last year’s Labour conference. Starmer, who introduced herself to fellow show-goers as “Vic”, saying it was “a new experience for me”, kept her sunglasses on for the duration.

Starmer confirmed she would be making a second fashion week appearance on Monday evening, hosting an evening reception at No 10 to celebrate 40 years of the London catwalks.

For her front row appearance, Starmer wore what is known in fashion as “a full look”: a head-to-toe designer ensemble, straight off the catwalk. A white jumpsuit with navy polka dots was coordinated with a navy cardigan with white buttons, and white high heels. The venue was also on-message, in the courtyard of Millbank Tower, for many years the Labour party’s headquarters.

Lee pulled out all the stops – there was a fluffy white dog, a vintage car, seven little girls, a bouquet of balloons and a glitter shower – but the stars of the show, apart from Starmer, were the belted midi-length dresses that have been a hit with women including Dame Helen Mirren, Christy Turlington and Mary Beard, as well as Starmer.

The same turquoise flute-sleeve dress was worn on the catwalk by three models of different body shapes. “The secret of our dresses is how hard we have worked on the sizing and the fit, so that they are perfect on lots of different bodies,” noted Lee, who said she was “so proud” that Starmer had accepted her invitation to the show.