Posh British style will never go out of fashion – Burberry should have known that

Burberry, you might assume, is as British as Paddington, afternoon tea and John Lewis Christmas adverts.

But when the fashion house’s new boss Joshua Schulman announced plans on Thursday for a turnaround, he admitted that the label famed for its trench coats had become distracted by a “a niche aesthetic” which failed to celebrate its “quintessentially British” heritage.

Burberry’s latest woeful figures show a £53m loss for the six months to September but under his fresh direction, Schulman will strive to bring it back to its British best and revive its appeal, especially in Asia and the US, both places which have a soft spot for buying into all things British.

In a way, it’s shocking that Burberry ever allowed itself to veer so far from what makes it great and recognisable when its intrinsic Britishness is so authentic – and that’s whether you believe Britishness is encapsulated by an EastEnders star and her baby in head-to-toe matching Burberry checks (hello, Danniella Westbrook) or Queen Elizabeth II arriving at Sandringham in a Burberry silk headscarf.

Quite brilliantly, they’re both as British as each other.

It’s this kooky clash of very particular cultural references which Burberry is almost uniquely placed to draw upon. “It was only a matter of time before Burberry looked back, in order to move forward. British style forever fuses the past with the future,” observes Virginia Chadwyck-Healey, a former British Vogue editor, style consultant and now founder of The Fairground, which will sell labels committed to responsible style, a rather British principle in itself.

“It somehow remains current, in a world that is forever changing. True to tradition, true to its history. British is tartan, it’s wool, it’s Prince of Wales check, it’s Burberry check, it’s the great outdoors, the sweeping Yorkshire moors, the beautiful Scottish highlands, the bustling cityscapes. It’s punk, it’s Soho, it’s Savile Row, it’s a pint, it’s a full English. It is truly eclectic, and for that reason it’s truly inclusive,” she concludes.

The opportunity for Burberry is potentially huge. From the Royal family to Paddington Bear, there’s a steady stream of British exports with the power to capture imaginations – and pounds – across the globe. “Britain retains a cultural and commercial clout,” analyses Dr Benjamin Wild, reader in fashion narratives at Manchester Metropolitan University.

He points to the worldwide attention garnered by the recent announcement of next year’s Oasis reunion as an example of this – all credit to Burberry, while it didn’t manage to get Liam and Noel sat next to each other on the front row of the September fashion show, they got the next best thing in the form of Molly, Lennon and Gene (Liam’s children) and Anais (Noel’s daughter) sat together instead. Maybe there will be a Burberry moment at next summer’s Wembley gigs nevertheless?

Dr Wild believes the current political climate might create an even more positive environment for labels to emphasise their Britishness. “Paradoxically, this appeal might be increasing as Brexit-related tensions ease and the UK starts to leverage its cultural and political distinction from Europe and the US by tapping into a nostalgia for times — pre-digital, pre-popularism, pre-Trump — when life seemed less scary, more certain, and definitely more fun,” he says.

While Burberry might have lost its Brit spark, there are plenty of far smaller labels who are leaning into the look and finding it pays dividends. One is With Nothing Underneath, a label which founder Pip Durell began to emulate the shirting experience men enjoyed from specialist purveyors in the tradition of Jermyn Street or Savile Row and reimagine it for women.

After recently securing £2.5 million in funding, Durrell is expanding into new territories, especially the US, and is introducing new categories, including blazers, trousers and knitwear. “WNU lives by the guiding principle of British Heritage meets Modern Simplicity,” she explains. “The simplicity part is easy, but the British Heritage is the key. It’s the art of nostalgia. The representation of a sentiment within clothing. Easy Oxford shirts, soft wool trousers – they are pieces that make a wardrobe.”

While her shirts are made to be versatile, the imagery Durrell creates for WNU is an unmistakable moodboard of aspirational Britishness – one model pulls pints in blue and white stripes, another shoot takes places at a stables while another essentially recreates Princess Diana’s famous polo ensemble of baseball cap, British Lung Foundation sweatshirt and mannish blazer. “In the fast pace of ever-new ‘Instagram’ brands we appeal to a classic sentiment – a feeling that we’ve been here before or, at the very least, worn these clothes,” Durrell continues. “Heritage. Classic. Prep. The simple act of looking backward.”

For stylist Bay Garnett, who has recently collaborated with Made in Britain knitwear label Herd, the UK has always been an inspiration. “European style might be more soignée and chic but there is nothing like British style,” she says. “You only have to think of the Duchess of Devonshire and the great quintessentially English eccentrics and aristocrats of the last century; only the English can make a tweed skirt and little cardigan with tights look so authentic and stylish – I think its the lack of vanity too, that clothes have to work in a practical way, so they look wonderfully worn in and relaxed.”

She cites rebel Brits like Alexander McQueen and Isabella Blow as having “a kind of confidence and anarchy that is singular to being British”.

Garnett has styled her Herd collaboration in lush green fields with classic cars in the backdrop, underscoring the British link to her designs. But it goes beyond the aesthetics.

“The provenance of the materials and the fact that all is made in Britain is very important to me,” she notes. “If we are producing new clothes into the world and I’m a part of that, I want to be a part of something that is not harmful to the planet. I want to be a part of a process that gives value, care and respect to the planet we live on. And I love supporting British farms and craftsmanship.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by Herd founder Ruth Rands: “Uncovering the multitude of industrial crafts of Britain has been surprising, from the many different processes for wool all done within a practical and efficient radius of the sheep farms there is everything from lace-spinning to button cutting, all done to best in class standards. This kind of regional connection to the supply chain is rare to find around the world.”

Back at Burberry, where many products are now made abroad, a defiant return to all things quintessentially British has already become evident over the past couple of months. In October, Olivia Colman posed beside a Land Rover in a khaki quilted jacket for a campaign entitled It’s Always Burberry Weather – you had to look twice to check it wasn’t actually a vintage snap of Queen Elizabeth out on the moors of Balmoral. Crucially, Burberry is one of a handful of British labels which the late Queen genuinely loved, wore and awarded with a Royal Warrant (the company now holds a warrant for outfitting King Charles, too) so this was an advertisement which felt pleasingly authentic.

Then, earlier this week, David Tennant and Alex Hassell (who played Lord Baddingham and Rupert Campbell-Black respectively in the recent Disney + revival of Jilly Cooper’s Rivals) were unveiled as stars of Burberry’s Christmas campaign, gadding about London in black trench coats and festive checks together.

“Britishness, for Burberry, is not merely a matter of heritage aesthetic choices, it’s the foundation of the brand’s authenticity and explains its appeal worldwide,” says

Dr Elizabeth Kealy-Morris, Senior Lecturer in Dress and Belonging at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Another challenge for Burberry is reclaiming the trench coat. It’s the item upon which the brand built its success. Gabardine, the material from which trenches are traditionally created, was introduced by Thomas Burberry at his Basingstoke outdoor outfitters in 1879.

Since then, the trench has spanned a multitude of cultural touchpoints from being worn by officers during the First World War, by George Mallory when he attempted to scale Everest in 1924 and by the film stars ranging from Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca to Meryl Streep in Kramer vs Kramer.

Astonishingly, in 1965, one in five coats exported from Britain was made by Burberry. More recently, everyone from Kate Moss to Kate Middleton have worn Burberry’s trenches.

“Burberry’s trench coat is more than just a design: it’s a cultural icon, rooted in functionality brought by climate, and transformed into a fashion staple,” says Dr Kealy-Morris. “A brand that weaves nostalgia and tradition into its brand ethos offers customers a sense of heritage which stands in stark contrast to the temporality of contemporary fast fashion.”

You can now walk into almost any fashion store and pick up a trench coat at any price point from labels as diverse as Japan’s Uniqlo, France’s Sézane, Spain’s Zara or Sweden’s Toteme. It will be a tall order for Schulman and chief creative officer Bradford-born Daniel Lee, if he remains in post, to remind customers around the world that a Burberry trench is worth the investment.

It will be the fight of Burberry’s life – but equipped with its ready-for-anything trench coat roots, it’s one it can certainly win.