As a star-studded cast (including Euphoria’s Hunter Schafer, model Lily Aldridge, actress Isabelle Huppert and K-Pop star Jisoo) filtered into Burberry’s Spring Summer 2020 show, entitled #Evolution, the brand announced on Instagram that this season’s production has been certified carbon neutral.
"We have offset our impacts, such as the flights of guests travelling to London specifically for the show and the build and production of the event, through VSC-certified REDD+ projects which prevent deforestation and conserve tropical rainforest in the Brazilian Amazon," the statement read.
While Riccardo Tisci has never made it clear just how politically active he is (at least publicly), with the Amazon rainforest burning, Greta Thunberg sailing the Atlantic and Extinction Rebellion taking over The Strand, in order to feel truly contemporary, global brands must align themselves with the cultural zeitgeist. With the climate crisis at the forefront of everyone’s mind right now, Burberry’s carbon-neutral pledge is just one of many signs that the brand is reflective of current culture – both on and off the catwalk.
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SS20 marks Tisci’s third season at the helm of the British brand. Making it past the typically sensationalised debut and tricky follow-up collections, the third turn for a designer at a new brand is often where we begin to truly see their aesthetic DNA coming through.
The show opened with looks that will please Tisci’s sophisticated cohort: a neutral palette the house is most recognised for, with camel belted suiting, black fringed midi skirts and dove grey evening wear, plus plenty of silk scarves reimagined as halternecks and waist ties. Well versed in streetwear (which we saw during his time at Givenchy as well as last season at Burberry), Tisci presented more relaxed striped rugby polo shirts, logo-emblazoned oversized tees, plus Instagram-friendly moments in the form of diamond-sparkled hoodies and blazers.
Handmaid’s Tale-esque visor headwear featured throughout the collection, which, along with the carbon-neutral announcement and 2001: A Space Odyssey-inspired set design (giant white speakers suspended in transparent boxes akin to a spacecraft interior sat in the middle of the stage) suggest that Tisci’s mind is on the future of both the planet and his audience.
Our favourite looks? The monochrome striped tops paired with traditional check two-piece suits – both an update on the classic print and a workwear solution that either end of Tisci’s customer spectrum would feel at home in, plus the varsity jackets seen on Kendall Jenner featuring brown leather cuffs and a lifebuoy brand logo. Jenner wasn’t the only Gen-Z model to walk the catwalk: Gigi and Bella Hadid were there too, as well as ‘queen of cool’ Freja Beha Erichsen and British model Agyness Deyn, who returned to the catwalk for the first time since 2015.
What Tisci’s Burberry proved at its third showing at London Fashion Week is that, with an offering for an array of customers, plus a culturally sound pledge reflective of the current state of the world, he knows exactly how to sit at the helm of a global fashion brand in 2019.