Agyness Deyn Makes Her Runway Return At Burberry SS20: "I feel Honoured"

It’s been four years since Agyness Deyn last graced the runway. Walking alongside Gigi and Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner at the Troubadour White City Theatre, the model-cum-actor joined fashion's twenty-something legion at Burberry’s spring/summer 2020 show at London Fashion Week.

While Jenner debuted her new sleek blonde locks (courtesy of hairstylist Guido Palau), Deyn returned to the hue and short crop that she's been famed for since she first emerged in 2007. Showcasing an embellished trench, tailored pinstriped shirt and pale pink trousers, it's easy to see why the Devon-born Brit has had such a long-standing career and fruitful relationship with the storied house. Once the face of "The Beat" by Burberry fragrance and several fashion campaigns, Deyn (whose real name is Laura Hollins) had a close friendship with former creative director Christopher Bailey, and now, it seems with his successor Riccardo Tisci, too. "It just made sense to me," Deyn tells Vogue of her return. "I had a very good relationship with the house when it was under Christopher and I feel honoured to walk for Riccardo. I love what he has done with it."

The collection itself comprised of multiple tailoring juxtapositions that seem to continue to resonate in Tisci's work: streetwear vs. formalwear, sportswear vs. tailoring and more. Yet, delicate lace dresses and separates were also at the forefront. What does Deyn make of the fashion industry and its vision over a decade on from her first fashion footing? "My experience back then was one of creative chaos and excitement," Deyn explains. "Being naughty and running around like a fairy. Today, it feels instant and more organised – but that could just be me."

Deyn, who married Joel McAndrew in Brooklyn, NYC in 2016, has turned her hand to acting in recent years. From Terence Davies’s Sunset Song in 2015 to Her Smell starring alongside Elisabeth Moss and Cara Delevingne in 2018, Deyn has carved out a career for herself off the catwalk and onto on the big screen. But at LFW, Deyn returned to the runway, reminiscing about her big break with the brand. "The first time I got booked to work for Burberry I had to pinch myself," she says. "I got the same feeling [again]."