Burberry unveils ‘The Trench, Portraits of an Icon’ – a global campaign featuring leading figures from film, music, sport and fashion
As Burberry marks its 170th anniversary, ‘The Trench, Portraits of an Icon’ celebrates a beloved signature style that has long bridged function and fashion.
Founder Thomas Burberry’s pioneering invention, gabardine, has been redefining outerwear since 1879. Engineered to resist the elements while allowing freedom of movement, this innovative fabric introduced a new way of dressing. Today, each trench coat continues to embody the same duality: a shield against the weather and a canvas for self-expression – cherished across generations around the world.
Refined through quiet evolution, the Burberry trench endures. Practical and expressive, functional and unmistakably elegant, it remains a symbol of British culture and modern heritage.
Burberry’s Chief Creative Officer, Daniel Lee, says of the campaign: ‘To celebrate the Burberry trench, an icon of British style and fashion, we invited friends from across the creative world to bring it to life.’
Photographed by Tim Walker, the series of intimate black-and-white portraits feels immediate and timeless, with an easy sophistication in the many ways the trench is worn throughout: a collar turned up, a belt loosely tied – it feels at once protective and expressive.
The campaign brings together a cast of 23 global stars from film, music, sport and fashion, including Agyness Deyn, Alva Claire, Bright, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Eberechi Eze, Erin O’Connor, Hikaru Utada, Iris Lasnet, J.Y. Park, Jack Draper, Jonathan Bailey, Karen Elson, Kate Moss, Kendall Jenner, Kid Cudi, Kristin Scott Thomas, Little Simz, Matthew Macfadyen, Reece Clarke, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Sora Choi, Teyana Taylor and Wu Lei. Together, they form a cross-generational portrait of contemporary culture, each bringing a distinct perspective to the coat.
Lee explains: ‘Think of it as a tribute to Burberry – a symbol of British style and craftsmanship – and a thank you to the skilled individuals behind every coat.’
A documentary film accompanies the campaign, capturing unscripted exchanges between cast and crew. Set to a soundtrack by Blur, it reflects a modern Britain that is creative, confident and outward-looking – a spirit the trench has continued to embody for more than a century. Together, the portraits and film form a study of the trench as both object and symbol, shaped by craft, animated by character and defined by the people who wear it.
As Burberry marks its 170th anniversary, the campaign also signals a year-long celebration of the house’s archive and history, honouring the legacy that continues to shape its present and future.
‘The Burberry trench coat stands as one of the most iconic signifiers of our brand, and this campaign tells its timeless story – a story rooted in the craftsmanship, innovation and authenticity that have defined us for 170 years,’ says Joshua Schulman, Chief Executive Officer. ‘It celebrates Burberry’s enduring global resonance through a design deeply woven into British style and culture, inspiring people across generations to express their individuality while remaining unmistakably Burberry.’
Trench styles
Celebrating 170 years of Burberry, the campaign showcases an expanded Heritage Collection alongside fresh expressions of the house’s iconic trench and car coats.
The Heritage Collection draws on Burberry’s storied history of British craft and rainwear innovation, resulting in five distinct silhouettes. Signature styles – the Kensington, Waterloo and Chelsea trench coats, plus the Camden car coat – will be joined by the Mayfair trench jacket, a new addition to the range, defined by a modern, cropped cut.
Each Heritage Collection coat and jacket is made in England at the Castleford manufacturing site, where specialist tailors have produced Burberry rainwear for more than 50 years. The cotton gabardine was developed for a crease-resistant structure, ensuring a neat finish, and is lined with beige House Check. All fabrics, from the shower-resistant outer to the cotton lining, are woven at the Burberry Mill in Keighley, Yorkshire. The main material and body lining of each coat contain 100 per cent organic cotton.
Beyond the Heritage Collection, new designs offer fresh takes on the archive. The Fitzrovia trench and the Ellingham car coat add volume to the trench through wider sleeves and a fuller skirt, creating a bold cinch at the belted waist.
House silhouettes are also reimagined in tropical gabardine – the lightest of Burberry’s signature fabrics, developed for warmer climates – in a soft colour palette of pale sugar pink and stone beige for women, or graphite grey for men.
Windows and pop-ups
The campaign shines a spotlight on the Burberry trench in stores worldwide, with a series of striking window displays and specially curated pop-up installations. Each space is designed to celebrate the trench as a house icon, bringing its heritage, craftsmanship and cultural status to the forefront of the Burberry store experience.
Across both windows and pop-ups, signature silhouettes are heroed alongside large black-and-white portraits from the campaign – creating bold, gallery-like moments that invite customers to experience the designs alongside the campaign’s iconic cast. The contrast between product displays and expressive imagery reinforces the trench as both a functional design and a cultural statement.
Pop-ups will feature at key global locations, including Regent Street London, Isetan Shinjuku Tokyo, Lotte Main Seoul and 57th Street New York.