At London Fashion Week, one fact is as constant as a well-tailored trench coat: the Burberry show will always go viral. But even though Cara Delevingne and Naomi Campbell were broadcasting live from their phones—and the September 2017 collection went straight from the runway to Burberry.com‘s sales pages — some show secrets still remained cinched tight.
Scroll down for the great unraveling…
Instagram: @burberry
The show space was once haunted
The Burberry show was held at Sessions House, a former London courthouse built in 1779. Originally called the Middlesex Sessions and Detention House, the three-story structure was where men, women, and even children were sentenced harshly for minor crimes. (The two most common punishments: deportation to Australian penal colonies and death by hanging.) Local legend cites a female ghost who haunts the stairs weeping as the most common supernatural sighting. We didn’t spot her, although there was a model using lots of Visine in the bathroom…
Burberry
The catwalk had some throwback delights…
Remember the early 2000s, when everyone from Sienna Miller to Pete Doherty wore Burberry’s signature check pattern on scarves, skirts, and even bikinis? Chief Creative Officer Christopher Bailey does, too. Fifteen percent of his runway offerings for this season feature the famous pattern, including raincoats, trench coats, skirts, turtlenecks, high-heeled sandals, and baseball caps.
…which means you can Hunt down your dreams
If you can’t get your hands on one of Burberry’s fresh-off-the-runway fashions, trusted resale sites like The Real Real have some pre-owned options that feature the signature check in all its Brit Pop glory.
Instagram: @burberry
The make-up look takes five minutes
“Everyone has imperfections,” said makeup artist Wendy Rowe backstage. “We like imperfections. It’s just about softening them if you want to.” For models like Kaia Gerber, Dilone, and Grace Bok, that meant no mascara, no lipstick, and no strobing. “We’ve moved away from the glow because everybody copied us,” Rowe continued. “So this time, it’s a cashmere matte finish with a powder foundation.” Apply it in light, circular strokes like a bronzer, and don’t overdo it. Add a tiny flush of pink color along the eyes with a lip contour stick (yes, we said lip…), and you’re done. “The point here is not to hide your real face,” Rowe instructs. “This isn’t a mask. This is make-up to let you be who you are. It’s an honest kind of beauty.”
Burberry
The khaki is sketchy
Designers at Burberry’s studio drew cartoons and captions directly on fabric, then created original prints for trousers and trench coats out of their favorite doodles. Especially genius: the placement of this double decker bus bunny, which we hope gets its own Nick Jr. series in 2018.
Burberry
Runway trend: one and a half earrings
A constant worry with single statement earrings: what if it looks like you had a second dangly match, and it just fell off? Burberry combats that accessories anxiety with 1.5 earrings: one that’s massive and glittering, one that’s a smaller coordinating crystal cluster. All the status of the solo look, with none of the worry.
Instagram: @burberry
Front row trend: Bumsters
Behold goddess Cara Delevingne in a pair of super-low plaid trousers that recall Alexander McQueen’s 1996 “bumster” pants…and the start of the low-rise denim movement. With skinny jeans threatening to take a break, is this our new normal?
Burberry
And a Real Fake
Perhaps you heard that many Burberry backstage visitors (including this writer) were trapped inside when an anti-fur protest got violent in the street. Perhaps you saw the morose-faced woman chanting “SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!” into a megaphone as Kate Moss left the building, as if she were Cersei and her front-row perch an iron throne. Perhaps you even glimpsed the giant pink and blue fur coats on the catwalk and thought, “Well, they did give those vegans some easy ammo.” Except despite their minky appearance, those gloriously fuzzy coats were super fake. So. Now what?
From: ELLE USA
