Burberry Brand History | Burberry Company History | Fibre2fashion

1800s
In 1856, trained dress-maker Thomas Burberry founded the brand at the age of 21. The first Burberry store opened on Winchester Street in Basingstoke. In 1891, the company move into its first London shop. Burberry develops a weatherproof coat called the ‘Tielocken’, the predecessor of the iconic trench coat in 1895.

1900 -1929
1909 saw the opening of the Burberry store in Paris. The company launched the Burberry motoring coat, with a full leather lining. In 1913, Burberry moved to a larger London premises that was designed by the architect Walter Cave in 1911, the store opened in 1913. Burberry gabardine ski suit (1917), Burberry motorbike jacket (1918) and the ladies green wool gabardine ski suit (1920) were also launched in this period. In 1920, the Paris store was reopened and renovated. In 1926, advertisement in the British Daily News revealed that Burberry Greatcoats were made regulation for officers from the King’s household and the guards.

1930 – 1950
The Burberry 1930 advertising campaign was photographed by Henry Guttman. In the same year advert for Burberry ski suits was launched. The Burberry campaign for summer 1935 was launched in The Tatler. 1938 was the launch of the Burberry outerwear advertising campaign. In 1947, Burberry menswear trench coat was introduced.

1951 – 1980
This period saw the launch of Advert for the Burberry blueblood coat (1959), the Burberry menswear cotton coat, known as the ‘Commander II’ (1960), Burberry womenswear woven tweed cape (1960s), Burberry womenswear trench coat (1970), The Burberry Spring/Summer 1974 campaign (1973). In 1968, Burberry outerwear advertising campaign was shot at London’s newly opened Hayward Gallery. The Burberry 1978 campaign was photographed by Lord Lichfield.

1981 – 2000
Burberry menswear trench coat (1982), Burberry womenswear trench coat (1983), Burberry womenswear cotton trench coat (1999), Burberry menswear duffle coat (1999) were launched. During 1984 to1986, the Burberry coat was embroidered with a commemorative badge to celebrate the ‘In the Footsteps of Scott’ expedition. The team achieved the longest unassisted march in history, walking 900 miles to reach the South Pole. In 1998, the Burberry Prorsum label was launched under creative director Roberto Menichetti. From 1999 to present, all Burberry campaigns were photographed by Mario Testino. The Spring/Summer 1999 Campaign featured model Stella Tennant. The Autumn/Winter 1999 Campaign featured model Kate Moss.

2004
The Autumn/Winter 2004 Campaign featured model Lily Donaldson.

2005
The Autumn/Winter 2005 Campaign featured model Kate Moss. The collection included a limited edition pink Burberry trench coat. Christopher Bailey, Chief Creative Officer, Burberry, created the one-off piece to coincide with National Breast Cancer awareness month.

2006
The Spring/Summer 2006 Campaign featured model Gemma Ward. The Autumn/Winter 2006 Campaign featured actor Max Irons and models Kate Moss, Isaac Ferry, James Jamieson, Tom Guiness and Fenton Bailey. The brand celebrated 150 years of Burberry at the womenswear Autumn/Winter 2006 show in Milan.

2007
The Spring/Summer 2007 Campaign featured models Georgia Frost, Stella Tenant, Kate Moss and Lily Donaldson. The Autumn/Winter 2007 Campaign featured models Lily Donaldson, Keira Gormley and Agyness Deyn, singers Jonny Epstein, Tom Atkin, Edward Larrikin and Kieran Webster.

2008
The Spring/Summer 2008 Campaign featured actor Eddie Redmayne and models Jack Bevan, Alex Pettyfer, Laura Fraser, Agyness Deyn, Merlin Ferry, Will Cameron, Martin Tomlinson, Edie Campbell, Lily Donaldson, Liam Wade, Coco Sumner and Josh Beech. The Autumn/Winter 2008 Campaign featured model Rosie Huntington-Whitely, Lily Donaldson and actor Sam Riley.

2009
The Spring/Summer 2009 Campaign featured musician George Craig, Sam Beeton and model Lily Donaldson. The year 2009 saw the opening of the new Burberry global headquarters at Horseferry House in London and the American Burberry headquarters, at 444 Madison Avenue in New York City. The Autumn/Winter 2009 Campaign featured models Charlie France, Tom Guinness, Nick Wilson and actress Emma Watson.

2010
The Spring/Summer 2010 Campaign featured singer George Craig and actress Emma Watson. The Autumn/Winter 2010 Campaign featured singer Sam Fry, British models Nina Porter, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Sam Rollinson and actor Douglas Booth.

2011
The Spring/Summer 2011 Campaign featured models Cara Delevingne, Jourdan Dunn, Tara Ferry, Tali Lennox, Sacha M’Baye and Jacob Young, musicians Karen Anne and Johnny Flynn, actress Sophie Kennedy-Clark and actor Matthew Beard. The Autumn/Winter 2011 Campaign featured actors Sam Claflin and Callum Turner, actress Felicity Jones, models Amber Anderson, Edie Campbell, Jake Cooper, Cara Delevingne, Jourdan Dunn, Johnny George, Thomas Penfound, Milly Simmonds and Molly Smith and musicians Rob Pryor and Matthew Whitehouse.

2012
The Spring/Summer 2012 Campaign featured actor Eddie Redmayne and model Cara Delevingne whereas the Autumn/Winter 2012 Campaign featured musician Roo Panes and actress Gabriella Wilde.

2013
The Spring/Summer 2013 Campaign featured 10-year-old Romeo Beckham with models Edie Campbell, Cara Delevingne, Charlotte Wiggins, Alex Dunstan, Charlie France and Max Rendell.