5 Things To Know About Burberry’s Forest-Bound SS´21 Show

“I think fashion needed a big shake. Now, there is no way back.” So said Riccardo Tisci in an interview for British Vogue’s September issue. Having spent the lockdown period with his 92-year-old mother in a house his father built near Lake Como, he has been doing some serious thinking in recent months – and clearly, he had been indulging in some forest bathing, too. His spring/summer 2021 collection for Burberry, dedicated to the natural world, was testament to that period of reflection. Billed as a “digital experience for unprecedented times” the show – livestreamed and without a physical audience – went heavy on the “nature as tonic” narrative. On the first day of London Fashion Week, here’s everything you need to know about the Burberry spring/summer 2021 show.

The show was introduced by a host of celebrities

Live-streamed to over 42,000 people worldwide, Burberry became the first luxury brand to partner with Twitch – you know, that livestreaming platform beloved of gamers including Drake – with a pre-show, livestreamed chat (known as a “squad stream”) hosted by musician and actor Erykah Badu. In conversation with the artists Rosalía and Steve Lacy, and model Bella Hadid, Erykah was throwing out the questions in a pre-show preamble not unlike pre-match coverage before a football game. “The show is set in the English countryside. Where do you all like to escape to, and why?”, asked Erykah, before remarking that the natural world was, for her, the most relaxing place to be. “My grandmothers are both 92 years old, they’re still here. Nature is what kept my people alive for so very long,” she observed.

The quartet went on to discuss Riccardo Tisci’s reinvention project at Burberry, with Bella noting: “Riccardo brings his flair, his radical cool side, something that [has] elevated everything up until this point. It’s such a perfect connection between a person and a fashion house.” Rosalía agreed, describing Tisci’s approach as “experimental”. “Even if I feel like Riccardo has always so much respect for the classic, at the same time there’s an always an attitude of pushing forward,” she said. “He is experimenting, he’s having fun. You can tell.”

A creepy clearing in the English countryside served as a show location

Badu’s chat about the natural world segued to a live-streamed show filmed in the depths of the English countryside. As the stream began, models including Mariacarla Boscono and Anok Yai were shown getting dressed in looks from the collection in mirrored changing rooms, while birdsong played in the background. Once they were layered up and ready to walk, the mirrored doors opened out into a forest, through which models wended their way, headed towards a clearing surrounded by tall pine trees. The creepiest detail? They were escorted through the woods by Men in Black-style heavies wearing security-detail sunglasses. Once they arrived at the clearing, they took their places in the round, observing choreographed dancers on raised platforms wearing lockdown sweats, and serenaded by the guitar-wielding musician Eliza Douglas.

The show comprised a creative collaboration with the artist Anne Imhof

The German performance artist Anne Imhof received top billing at the Burberry show, which was described as “a radical meeting of fashion and art”. You may remember her from her 2017 Venice Biennale project, where she transformed the German Pavilion into a bunker with military barbed wire fencing and snarling Dobermans on patrol. Eliza Douglas gave a performance in Venice, and has continued to collaborate with Imhof (you may recognise her as a Balenciaga model), so it was no surprise that she should reappear on the Burberry scaffolding, playing her guitar and thrashing her head around enthusiastically. Those performers, meanwhile, dressed in white, symbolised waves – “an ebb and flow of bodies, models and performers as one – a swelling and falling tide of figures moving through the space,” as the show notes put it.

Glamour and practicality made for a very British take on eveningwear

Anyone seeking ideas on rebooting their summer festival fashion template will find plenty in this collection. Despite the streak of glamour that manifested in a series of sparkling silver dresses, the clothes felt resolutely grounded and, dare we say, practical. From a rubberised tangerine-coloured trench coat modelled by Joan Smalls, to chainmail-inspired trousers, the sense was of a very British take on eveningwear. And those fishnets studded with crystals will pair nicely with wellington boots.

Beware of the great Burberry shark

Tisci’s show notes mused on the meeting and “love affair between a mermaid and a shark”, which the discerning fashion show goer took with a pinch of salt – until they saw shark hazard labels emblazoned across many pieces in the collection. “Swim with the great Burberry shark at your own risk!” read patches and pockets on denim and dungarees. Elsewhere, the symbol of water harkening back to the launch of Thomas Burberry’s first technical gabardine was present in fisherman’s hats, fishtail illustrations and crystal netting.