Burberry Universe
Burberry - reimagined digital fashion
Client
SVA in Branding Thesis Project
My Role
Brand Strategy Development + Research
Year
2020
Detail
Team
Debbie W Huang
Chelsea Carlson
Sae Hoon Jang
Ricardo
Courtney
In this project, we reexamined what's Burberry's non-negotiables, take forward what we have found through our previous anatomy of its equities.
After planned out several divisions, I take charge of the consumer engagement strategy and the retail strategy. Nowadays, the market is not only about the material pursuit but also spiritual pursuit, which is significantly essential for aspirational brands like the luxury industry. What does it mean for the brand in a digitally native generation?
I am so inspired by the social retail store that Burberry did in China, and I see a new world opened for the digital ecosystem -- The Burberry Universe.
The Ask
Trace the long history of the legacy brand and speculate its future in 5 years.
part 1: Evolution of Burberry from its founding through 2005
part 2: From 2005 to present and future strategy
Research part 1:
The Story of Burberry
1856 - 2005
The story starts with a innovative founder - who build a company on invention & design that is still evident in the brand today. Later he'd go on to create the garment that would define the World Wars, transform into a symbol of Bristish pride and international glamor.
skip the research
and jump to the official Burberry Festive Film 2016 - "The Tale of Thomas Burberry" for a quick recap on the history.
I am good.
Go on!
He was a small-town kid, the son of a farmer, born in 1835, who went from creating farmer’s clothes by hand to produce the technical clothing of explorers & elites in factories.
He started by apprenticing as a draper but quickly set off to open his own shop at the age of 21.
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He expanded his business into women’s corsetry & children’s clothing. Burberry used retail techniques that would later become popular in department stores, services like a funeral emporium & legal desk.
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But he was also an outdoorsman and decided to use what he had learned about keeping farmers dry in their fields to keep riders dry on their horses. This proved extremely popular and he soon moved most of his business into ready-to-wear outdoor clothing, which he produced in factories.
Burberry was a famously health-conscious person & he was always interested in promoting good health through his products & in his business practices.
While other factories were built as cheaply as possible, with terrible lighting that left employees nearly blind after working just a few years, Burberry built his factories with large windows and overhead lighting. Which makes the first advantage over competitors
Thomas Burberry’s second major innovation was inspired by famously dismal British weather.
The reigning raincoat technology of the day — Macintoshes — were extremely heavy rubber monstrosities with no breathability. Burberry hated the feeling of being weighed down by them while riding his horse, so he started looking for a new material that could keep you dry without all the heft.
Burberry noticed that farmer’s protective smocks — the outerwear he’d been making for so long — would become water-resistant overtime where brushed against the sheep. Their wool oil, lanolin, was serving as natural weatherproofing.
He took this seed of an idea and developed it into a new fabric.
He called it Gabardine and it was the invention of this fabric — nearly a quarter century after starting his business — that helped take Burberry to the next level.
But, Gabardine was quite expensive to make, so Burberry knew he needed to sell it to a higher-end clientele.
He began sending samples of gabardine to sporting & military gentlemen and advertising the benefits of lightweight, breathable rainproof clothing for popular sports, like hunting. Burberry’s dogged pursuit of big names of the time — from military leaders to explorers — helped solidify Burberry’s association with the upper class.
Burberry also made a strong push to capitalize on the rise of the motor car. These early cars were completely open-topped, so waterproof clothing was a nonegotiable.
Because of this popularity with motorists & the sporting nobility, he was able to expand to a London Haymarket location, along with a handful of other stores across England as well as export limited supplies abroad.
Burberry expanded his offerings to include outfits for all types of outdoor sports, from angling to archery.
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Gabardine, combined with Burberry’s aggressive and creative pursuit of the upper-class market — sending samples, creating custom clothing, and even creating ads geared towards sporting women had enabled Burberry to become a major player.
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By the close of the 1800s, Burberrys on the cusp of being a British institution.
In 1901 they designed their first real logomark — the Burberry knight — and marched off into the new century.
In less than fifty years, Burberry’s had made a huge leap from handcrafting practical smocks for farmers to producing innovative raintech for the upper classes.
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Gabardine’s protective and lightweight qualities made it well-suited to cope with inhospitable conditions.
It is no surprise then that the brand was the dressmaker of choice for several polar explorers back in the day.
Prorsum
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The spirit of the expedition perfectly conveys that spirit of Burberry’s Prorsum slogan, “Forwards”, which also shows that unyielding faith on the battlefield, to march in.
What drove the design was changes in how the British military outfit itself, and to a large degree, how the war was now being waged.
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Warfare used to be Napoleonic, military uniforms were brightly colored due to the influence of the nobles, helped commanders identify their infantry troops even through the smoke of battle.
After the Industrial Revolution and technology advancement in weapons, the practical aspect of military uniforms became priority, and that demand reached its peak during First World War.
A perfected khaki dye was patented right before the Second Boer War in 1899 and the color of the British uniform remained more or less the same all the way through the two World Wars.
The beginning of modern Trench coat.
It was first tasked for higher rank officers to outfitting themselves, those officers were the same noble upper-class gentleman that once wore Burberry Sportswear so-called on Burberry to make their nicely tailored military outfits.
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Help create image of a sporty, masculine man with duty.
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Trench Coat military uniform is adopted by general soldiers along with the officer class changing in the culture. Which given the name“Temporary gentleman”, a glamorous ideal image of a man in trench coat.
Each part of the trench coat had a function specific to where and how it was used and who used it.
Double Breasted=Military uniform
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Gunflap=absorb recoil
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D-ring on belt= hook on accessories, such as map cases, pistols, grenades.
Straps at the cuff to tighten the sleeve, offering greater protection from the weather.
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The hook&eye or collar buttons at the neck=protection from bad weather and poison gas.
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At the shoulder, Epaulette indicates the rank of the wearer.
By 1917, New York Times was reporting that even in America, the British import was in demand among officers, and was expected to be a part of soldiers' regular kit at the front.
On that poster, it says it only needs 2-4 days, and They specifically mentioned that every garment is labeled Burberrys along with their illustrated catalog post for free, and they also provide free clean and re-proof service for officers during the war.
Through propaganda, the style is deeply embedded in the general’s mind.
Soon enough, “Trench” and anything relating to the military become the magic word, Savvy marketers even began put the word on virtually any commodities to make it sell as people were desperate to connect with their loved ones at the front, that even using any of these” trench” things will make them feel better.
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A new look: Dress the same way as your soldier boy.
Fashion Icon: It gives people this feeling that if you’re wearing one of these, you are the most fashionable person on the street.
The cultural shift: The image of the Trench Coat is so profound, that the popularity of the Trench coat remained even after the War. For those former officers, it was a remembrance of their glamours status by wearing it. For civilians it reminds them of victory, it was a cultural phenomenon.
Burberry has evolved from a utilitarian and military aspect to innovative and designed to appeal to the tastes of the upper class, a sign of a luxury brand.
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George Mallory
in the 1924 Everest expedition was wearing a Burberry windproof climbing suit – then state of the art – over several layers of silk, cotton or wool.
In 1937, in an aeroplane named “The Burberry,” Flying Officer A. E. Clouston and Mrs Betty Kirby-Green broke the world record for a return flight from Croydon to Cape Town wearing Burberry apparel
1964: The British women's Olympic team in their Burberry uniforms, before a visit to Buckingham Palace
Burberry is also the first one who offers a same-day delivery in London in its own dedicated vehicle. What an influence!
Trench coat began to shed its most overt military utilitarianism in the 1940s.
It's most iconic features, the D-ring, storm flap and palettes become statements of fashion thanks to Hollywood.
Worn in some of the most iconic scenes in film history – Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Marlene Dietrich in A Foreign Affair, Meryl Streep in Kramer vs. Kramer
The trench became synonymous with intrepid men and smart women.
Replacing the image of the officer with that of the fast-talking journalist, slick gangster, guarded detective, dashing spy and seductive femme fatale, Hollywood helped the trench coat enter a more fashionable wardrobe.
A three-quater length trench coat once worn by Hepburn in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's sold for £68,750 at Chrirstie's education in 2017.
Even Her marjesty loveS Burberry, the brand has been granted twice the royal warrant of appointment (originally in 1955 and 1989 respectively).
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In the late ’50s, BB was acquired by G.U.S., a sales catalog corporation centered more on sales rather than innovation. So there’s no surprise that they became stagnant.
Their advertising wasn’t effective and without the logo and check, 9 out of 10 people would be unable to identify the brand that was being promoted.
Here we can see two ads with no brand, Burberry at the right and London Fog at the left, as you can see, there were no ownable equities for any of the brands.
New competitors came to the scene and claimed their market share.
Burberry understood the needs of the American market and redesigned the trench coat to fit the NYC shift from public transportation to the use of private automobiles.
It brought to life the Fairview, a lighter and slimmer trench coat design.
Part of the new strategy was to redesign their stores to demonstrate a new look.
Part of the strategy was to collaborate with Harrod’s and was supported by a new endorsement label.
US sales increased when partnering with Barney’s, a store known then to carry European merchandise.
How Burberry came up with the idea of creating their accessories line?
1. The manager of Burberry’s Paris store wanted to add a splash of color to a display of trench coats. He placed some of the coats with the hem facing out, showing off the “house check” pattern. Customers loved the look and were soon clamoring for merchandise featuring the check.
2. The other story is about a fashion show taken place in Paris, the country’s management team asked ahead of the show for 50 meters of the check fabric in order to accessorize some other products, like hats, umbrellas, scarfs, bags, etc.
A man who knows Burberry
His campaign positioned Burberry out of the stiff and dull identity they previously had, bringing back the adventurous outdoorsy style Burberry once possessed.
Competitors started copying Burberry, but it only let Burberry getting stronger by the repetition of their creative approach.
In the late ‘70s and ‘80s, the “Sloane Ranger” style, the UK’s answer to the American “yuppie,” grew to prominence in London.
As with preppies, the style became ubiquitous among the upper class. Burberry, among other luxury brands, was a favorite among this set.
By this time Burberry moved up in the upper-class segment and became a status symbol.
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The chavs were young people who belonged to the English working class and were usually poorly educated. Shortly over time the chav style became associated with bad taste and sloppiness. The company's signature print became ubiquitous in the Nineties among football hooligans and the new chav generation.
The pivot point of Burberry’s chav moment was when the paparazzi snapped a photo of actress Daniella Westbrook which she is mostly well known for her cocaine addiction.
This is when Burberry know they had a problem with their brand being too closely associated with hooligans and counterfeit and started to see a delice in sales.
The high-end, luxury brand they had worked hard to create was slowly being chipped away as such a large group of lower-class people had taken over the brand image.
More trouble came for Burberry's image when Kate Moss, who featured prominently in Burberry’s spring 2000s marketing campaigns, went into rehab for her drug addiction. After this made headlines, Burberry distanced itself from Ms. Moss.
The Chav Culture was about showing off bands and implied social status no matter if the labels were real or fake.
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Burberry was one of the most copied brand during this time.
Burberry has such a negative association that the brand was being banned from pubs and soccer games. Customers would be turned away if they wore the Burberry chav check.
Part of the strategy was to collaborate with Harrod’s and was supported by a new endorsement label.
US sales increased when partnering with Barney’s, a store known then to carry European merchandise.
Research part 2: The Bounceback of Burberry
Very few fashion brands combine Burberry’s heritage with recent proof that they have demonstrated the ability to transform their brand in a successful and revolutionary way.
And here we are with radical innovation and forms of social engagement prove that they could continue to use technology to be in the forefront of brand reinvention while responding
to important social and societal trends.
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Christopher Bailey was a brit at heart and was the right man for the job since he arrived in 2001. He saved the brand from the Chavs by reducing the amount of plaid and focused on restoring the Burberry legacy of British luxury. He also led Burberry to adopt technology and utilize social media.
Bailey’s Christmas campaign from 2014 featuring basically British royalty, Romeo Beckham. This was Bailey’s vision of classic British elegance.
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Angela Ahrendts was also a tremendous help with saving Burberry. She took control of the brand equities by buying back licenses.
In 2010 Burberry was the first to live to stream their fashion shows.
They launched the social media-focused campaign "Art of The Trench" It was a great success they had 7.5 million views from 150 countries and helped increase Burberry's fanbase on Facebook to over 1 million users. The campaign drove the brand's online sales up 50% by the end of 2010.
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Together Bailey and Ahrendts moved the Burberry fashion show from Milan Italy to London England putting London on the map as a fashion capital. They brought the brand back to London and move it forward with technology
Together Bailey and Ahrendts moved the Burberry fashion show from Milan Italy to London England putting London on the map as a fashion capital. They brought the brand back to London and move it forward with technology
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Burberry’s revenue grew 4 times in the 12 years revenue started to plato as Bailey left in 2018.
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Riccardo Tisci being named Burberry’s new chief creative officer. As the brand looking for a turnaround in fortunes after several years of stagnant sales.
Thomas Burberry is central to his reworking of the company, Tisci changed the Burberry monogram to feature the founder’s initials.
Burberry was a brand based on British weather, Riccardo Tisci is different! He is shifting from a British identity into a global one.
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Burberry launched its new visual identity. Here we can testify a tendency from fashion brands to “follow” an international style of the modernist sans serif.
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The new brand being beautifully displayed at emblematic places.
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Marco Gobbetti Burberry’s CEO and Tisci intended to take the brand more upmarket to the realm of rivals like Gucci or Dior, with higher prices and profit margins to match.
Since Tisci joined Burberry, the brand has worked with artists and Gen Z favorites like Ariana Grande and Gigi Hadid;
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To catch up with its competition, Burberry will have to feed customers with new experiences and a focus on digital communications.
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Tisci believes that streetwear isn’t finished and feels that younger shoppers are simply wearing streetwear with more confidence and creativity today.
But it hasn’t been all smooth sailing since Tisci took control of the brand.
Burberry came under fire for burning about $37M worth of unsold products every year in order to avoid diluting the brand by discounting the product.
While this is a common practice for many brands, Burberry got caught and this caused major public outcry, and spurred a new era focused on sustainability.
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Burberry has addressed these criticisms head on, launching a new line using more sustainable fabrics called #ReBurberry, pledging to go carbon neutral in their operations by 2022, and launching a program to donate their unused materials to fashion students.
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Burberry has continued its efforts to participate in the digital world by delivering innovative content and visually engaging with customers.
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Social influencers.
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These new digital influencers allow luxury brands to participate in social conversations online and to establish genuine consumer connections with untapped consumer segments. To push the digital vibe, we will be seeing more collaboration with CGI models.
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Like in this advertisement where Burberry is leveling up with competition and the way photoshoots are done in quarantine.
Here we can see model Kendall Jenner photographed on a bodysuit covered in a print of the famous Monogram. The campaign also shows Kendall’s CGI model in an artful and imaginative way.
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Burberry’s core values have permeated to all levels in the company.
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And Burberry is moving to a higher-end luxury side while pushing hard into the digital world.
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Digital Fashion sells not physical merchandise but Virtual products.
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Consumers can purchase and wear digital clothing virtually and can view it through their mobile devices and upload it on SNS-which provide unique experiences to consumers.
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Digital clothing isn’t made of fabric or anything tangible.
The garments are made from pixels rather than textiles, using computer technologies and 3D software. So you’ll never wear an item of digital clothing in real life.
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Burberry can enter the digital-only fashion world by collaborating with The Fabricant, which is one of the pioneer brands in the digital fashion industry.
From this collaboration, Burberry can encourage potential consumers with a unique life and self-expression and convey a sustainability message.
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Digital fashion can fulfill consumers' needs and imagination by giving opportunities for customizing their digital clothing using impractical materials like liquid, marble, and even dragon skin.
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Burberry with anything you can think of, with no boundaries, we march on to the unkownness.
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It’s about the individual and how a brand makes them feel. The core brand values must resonate with the customers’ own values and aspirations, and communicate their personal brand stories.
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The digitally native generations are spending significant time on social media. The world is also trending towards digital.
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Burberry is also investing in new forms of social economics in 2020 with their first social retail store together with their mini-program on phone with AR implication, providing their customers with “a direct connection to the Burberry community that is seamless, always accessible, personalised
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On the app each interaction with the brand rewards customers with social currency. And use that currency to hatch an animal character to be your own character, with features of outfits.
Customers can scan product tag QR codes to view additional content and book a preferred fitting room with specific playlists selected by Burberry and the ability to adjust the lighting. Every item in the store is scannable.
The new social retail store reflects Burberry’s pioneering history of firsts and ambition to continue to push boundaries through innovation and creativity.
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Earlier in 2020, we have Burberry’s 2021 SS fashion show collaborate with the online game streaming company - Twitch
Live streaming allows more people to participate, it’s more inclusive, and everyone who has a cell phone or computer can watch it online.
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In the next five years, experiential luxury is set to attain a 5% growth, compared to personal luxury’s 3% growth.
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Young, purpose-driven consumers will embrace the idea of digital fashion as it presents a new opportunity to tackle the industry's environmental issues and create more sustainable design systems
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Buying physical Burberry clothes also includes the digital version available for your digital world.
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In addition to the digital dress, Burberry will also launch limited edition game skin exclusive for Burberry customers. Maybe be TB monogram in Fortnite.
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Burberry will be holding fashion shows on virtual planets in the Burberry Universe, which means you can also explore other Burberry worlds (from past seasons, collaborations, etc) just on your device. You can even put on your VR gears for an immersive experience.
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In addition to the digital dress, Burberry will also launch limited edition game skin exclusive for Burberry customers. Maybe be TB monogram in Fortnite.
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You can shop, socialize, and take pictures of yourself wearing your digital clothes in the app.
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All in one experience.
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Be playful and enjoy, try new things, and push the boundaries of innovation.
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Sustainability isn’t just a PR move, it’s a business move.
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This would also provide opportunities to collaborate with material innovators around the world,
like Desserto, the Mexican company that has developed a vegan leather alternative made from cactus.
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Burberry Labs reconnects what made the brand great in the first place with the new goal of sustainability.
Not all clothes will be digital in the future, and those Burberry is making for real life should be as green as possible to compete with the market.
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Burberry has already dipped a toe in the resale waters by doing an official partnership with luxury resale site.
The ReBruberry spaces
focus on three areas outside of the traditional realm of luxury
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Since taking care of the items you already own is one of the easiest ways to have a greener closet, care will be one of the primary functions of the ReBurberry retail environments.
This idea ties in nicely to Burberry’s signature product, the Gabardine trench coat. These trenches are meant to be re-waterproofed every year. This both gets people to come into the store for the service but also demonstrates Burberry’s commitment to helping customers take care of their clothing.
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Next, the ReBurberry stores would be a place to ‘trade in’ your old Burberry products in order to create a circular economy of Burberry products. Products in good condition could be exchanged for credit while those in rougher shape can be donated to the upcycling workshop for reuse.
This allows Burberry to get a slice of the luxury resale market, instead of forfeiting it to third parties. Plus, it encourages loyalty to the brand. Consumers will know they can always bring the products back the ReBurberry store for a trade or donation.
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The upcycling workshop takes those surrendered Burberry products to create new, one-of-a-kind upcycled creations.
These are designed under the art direction of a rotating artist in residence (both well-established artists & rising stars).
This would maintain the luxury aspect of the brand while normalizing resale, upcycling, and reuse in the luxury sector.
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