Examine Christopher Bailey's autumn/winter 2011 Burberry Prorsum collection and you get British supermodel of the Swinging Sixties, a cow and a carabiner used for climbing.
It seems appropriate to consider the references in Burberry's autumn/winter 2011 collection on the day the British brand takes it's turn to co-host the annual Serpentine Summer Party. Christopher Bailey named the collection after iconic British supermodel Jean Shrimpton but there were also unusual influences to be found upon close examination of the 54-look collection, namely a cow and a climbing carabiner.
As highlighted in this week's Vintage Style post, Shrimpton also provided inspiration for the house's advertising campaign. Bailey loves to acknowledge the brand's rich history – Shrimpton herself modelled for their campaigns in the sixties. There was heavy influence from the Swinging decade – drop-waisted dresses, mod sweaters, skinny cropped pants and flared trousers. The palette was also symbolic of the time – orange, baby blue, pillar box red, purple, punctuated with black and white. Bailey also said he had in mind the traditional idea of 'coat dressing' and matching one's coat to a bag – a nod to ladylike, princess looks of the sixties but also a clever business move. If you're buying the coat, you obviously have to buy the matching bag.
Since his appointment in 2001, Christopher Bailey has created a trademark aesthetic of adding chunky, utilitarian details to his feminine designs. There is always a military influence but this time, the fastenings were not dissimilar to carabiners traditionally used in rope-intensive activities such as climbing. The metal loops were used at the fronts of jackets and on cuffs in groups of four.
One of the most intriguing elements of the collection were the cow print hats. Worn by 14 of the girls in the first half of the show, they were Baker Boy in shape and executed in cow-print fur. The print also appeared at the end of the show, on a men's stole and two women's jackets with belted waist. The cow was previously used for a graphic print on men's T-shirts for A/W10 and no doubt a nod to Bailey's rural upbring and the brand's quintessential British style.
The Serpentine Summer Party takes place this evening in the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2011, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Swiss architect Peter Zumthor.
The next Fashion Equation will be published in two weeks.
Laura Bradley is the Commissioning Editor of AnOther and published her first series of Fashion Equations in May 2008. Tom Baxter is an illustrator currently living and working in London.
