Burberry reverts to its roots under new creative officer Daniel Lee

Bucking the trend for simplicity and sans-serifs, the fashion label’s new chief creative officer looked to its archives for an intricate equestrian logo and distinctive serif wordmark.

By Abbey Bamford

February 8, 2023
11:43 am

February 8, 2023
12:09 pm

Burberry has revealed its new archive-inspired logo and serif wordmark, debuting the heritage brand’s new ode to Britishness in a campaign led by new chief creative officer Daniel Lee.

The Bradford-born designer was announced as chief creative officer in December 2022, after a much-hyped tenure at Bottega Veneta which brought the luxury brand to new audiences and popularised a particular shade of bright green.

A 122-year-old motif titled Equestrian Knight Design has been reintroduced. According to Burberry the design won “a public competition to design a new logo, circa 1901” and features the Latin word “Prorsum” meaning “Forwards”. The logo was removed from use under previous creative director Riccardo Tisci as part of a major rebrand in 2018.

The logo is layered on top of photography across the campaign and appears in white and royal blue.

The Burberry wordmark has also reverted to its historical roots, ditching its prosaic sans serif font which was designed just four years ago by British designer Peter Saville. Its new serif font references typefaces used previously by the brand and features more subtle quirks and embellishments, yet remains legible.

In recent years, there has been a shift towards sans serifs across luxury fashion brands, such as Berluti, Balmain and Saint Laurent. While the intention was to make the wordmarks more clear and digitally compatible, for use on everything from websites to embroidery, the result was a sea of relatively indistinguishable wordmarks, often uncharacteristic of the brands’ heritage or creative direction.

Burberry’s social media was completely wiped before Lee’s campaign was revealed in a series of 12 Instagram grid posts, clearly indicating that the label will enter a new era under his creative direction. Lee’s future direction for Burberry is expected to return its focus to being intrinsically British, suggested by the fact that his first campaign was shot in London by British photographer Tyrone Lebon, who previously worked with Lee on campaigns for Bottega Veneta.

The campaign  showcases a star-studded cast of British talent, such as actress Vanessa Redgrave, footballer Raheem Sterling and model Lennon Gallagher, son of Oasis front man Liam Gallagher. The film features an original score by Hackney-born rapper and producer John Glacier, who also features in the campaign.

All images courtesy of Burberry.