We expected Burberry to undergo dramatic changes with new chief creative officer, Riccardo Tisci at the helm, and now in the build-up to his highly anticipated London Fashion Week debut, the first shift in brand visuals has been revealed.
The brand's historic logo has been transformed, as announced on its Instagram feed. The logo is now made up of founder Thomas Burberry's initials interlocked in white and orange on top of a 'honeyed' background. Working in collaboration with British graphic designer and art director Peter Saville, an exchange of emails charting the evolution of the new logo has been posted on Burberry's account.
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"So excited to be working on the new logo with you Peter," reads a correspondence from Riccardo, "Do you think you can do it in four weeks?" "Riccardo, four weeks! You must be crazy," writes Peter, "You need four months for a project like this!" The conversation shows that Riccardo mined the Burberry archives for inspiration, and found references including a logo from 1908, as well as the brand's founder's monogram. "Some feel very contemporary," Riccardo explains.
Tisci said of the graphic designer: "Peter is one of our generation’s greatest design geniuses. I’m so happy to have collaborated together to reimagine the new visual language for the house." Peter, renowned for his album cover designs, was brought in last year by Raf Simons to revamp the Calvin Klein logo. "The new logotype is a complete step-change, an identity that taps into the heritage of the company in a way that suggests the twenty-first-century cultural coordinates of what Burberry could be," Saville told design magazine Dezeen. Alongside the '70s hues and monogram, the pair revealed a new font for the brand, this time in a more contemporary sans serif (see below).
Both of the designs will be used from today on all channels and across the brand's ad campaigns. Tisci, the former creative director of Givenchy, has already revealed plans for limited-edition pieces and surprise drops to take place each season, as well as a collaboration with fellow designer Vivienne Westwood, available in December.
With Tisci's new logo marking the next chapter in Burberry's aesthetic, we'll be waiting with bated breath for his London Fashion Week collection next month.