Daniel Lee - Designer, Creative Director of Burberry

[Polynpon]

 

[yslforever]

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That would explain the bow, my SO and I both thought : "what ? is he ashamed or dgaf ?"

 

[deango]

 

[Kite]

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Literally everyone was talking about this. Apparently the entire audience was shocked he made a bow.

 

[Lola701]

If he is leaving, then management needs to be sacked too!
It’s too easy to have the creatives take the blame for decisions.
Because at this point, with the strategy emplimented by management, nobody is going to succeed.

Burberry has been in a rocky situation since the Bailey days. In the past 10 years, they have had many aesthetics that has yet allowed them to have a growth globally (Tisci was a success in Asia).

It must be horrible to work on those conditions. I don’t feel like the talent is protected at Burberry.

 

[gallianostan]

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LOL

 

[Olaffo]

I remain quite sceptical about these rumours as they’ve invested heavily to rebrand Burberry after Tisci stunt and sacking Daniel in the middle of his contract means they might face lawsuit. I’m sure he will stay for the duration of contract, especially that yesterday’s collection has been positively received.

 

[style_expert]

I agree, the last thing Burberry needs right now is another major change. It takes time to create consistency and a new identity and I feel like Daniel Lee's just started to settle into the brand as a whole.
At the same time, it wouldn't be the first time a CEO throws the designer under the bus after feeling the pressure from shareholders and disappointing revenue figures. At this point, nothing surprises me anymore.

I do think that Burberry was hoping for more movement in the leather goods and shoes department with Daniel Lee coming in from his tenure at Bottega. This is the most major let down, I think the RTW creatively speaking is more or less as expected and if it weren't for the insane pricing it could be quite successful.

 

[StylishCynic]

Literally everyone was talking about this. Apparently the entire audience was shocked he made a bow.

Is there a video of his bow anywhere? It looks like it's been scrubbed from all of the show videos posted to YouTube.

 

[HelgaZ]

Is there a video of his bow anywhere? It looks like it's been scrubbed from all of the show videos posted to YouTube.

In the previous version of the video, his sneakers were visible, but now they are gone. Someone understands what is happening?

 

[matheus_s]

need more details. WWD? BOF?

 

[yslforever]

Is there a video of his bow anywhere? It looks like it's been scrubbed from all of the show videos posted to YouTube.

In the livestream, there was just a very small glimpse (?) of him, of his white sneakers more precisely.

 

[StylishCynic]

Some highlights of Cathy Horyn's review:

Yet with each outfit... the show grew heavier, weighed down by Lee’s struggle to avoid putting something uncool on his runway. And the attitude expressed by many of the clothes was undeniably cool... trousers that zipped down the front of each leg, following the example last fall of Phoebe Philo’s (except hers were in the back) and were cracked open at the knees.

But Lee’s collection never came to a boil. The number of brown or sludge-green styles seemed relentless. Brands that hold your attention almost always use the hook of a distinct silhouette... Obviously, Burberry has its famous trench coat and its plaids, but I can’t think of a new style or shape that Lee has claimed, and repeated, for the brand.

...My point is a lot of what Lee has done, and can do, can be quite subversive. At the moment, that expression feels muffled by a lack of focus, especially on a distinctive silhouette... Before and after the show, I heard a number of journalists question how long Lee might hold onto his job, that it isn’t working... But consensus is a dangerous thing in any field. In my opinion, it would be a shame if Burberry can’t figure out how to unleash the subversiveness. Not harness it or control it, but really let it go.

Source: The Cut / NY Magazine

 

[LadyJunon]

Is there a video of his bow anywhere? It looks like it's been scrubbed from all of the show videos posted to YouTube.

In the livestream, there was just a very small glimpse (?) of him, of his white sneakers more precisely.

There's this edit of the show by iDest:

It's very much blink-and-you-miss-it. You can see a glimpse his sneakers, but he doesn't fully step into the light.

 

[Lola701]

No announcement for now…
But I thought about it. It would be cheaper for Burberry to have him until the end of his 3 years contract than to end abruptly the contract…
He is working for a big company, his salary is probably in Millions and his job doesn’t come with an obligation of results.

They restructuring the brand, the stores and many investments have been made. Can Burberry really afford to lose him? They won’t be able to attract high profile talents if so…

Ending his contract abruptly is also removing the non-competition clause. He would be a free agent for LVMH…

We saw how Hedi Slimane has flipped the narrative at Celine. He was struggling for the first 2 years and then it took off.

If the suits at Burberry are clever, they will respond to the feedback of the market.

 

[StylishCynic]

No announcement for now…
But I thought about it. It would be cheaper for Burberry to have him until the end of his 3 years contract than to end abruptly the contract…
He is working for a big company, his salary is probably in Millions and his job doesn’t come with an obligation of results.

They restructuring the brand, the stores and many investments have been made. Can Burberry really afford to lose him? They won’t be able to attract high profile talents if so…

Ending his contract abruptly is also removing the non-competition clause. He would be a free agent for LVMH…

We saw how Hedi Slimane has flipped the narrative at Celine. He was struggling for the first 2 years and then it took off.

If the suits at Burberry are clever, they will respond to the feedback of the market.

Agreed all around.

I wonder if the rumored firing was a "soft termination" –like, a stern warning that "this collection needs to be well-received, or it's over"– opposed to an actual termination. It would be an HR nightmare to reverse the latter if that's actually what happened and now the suits are having a change of heart.

 

[Frederic01]

They restructuring the brand, the stores and many investments have been made. Can Burberry really afford to lose him? They won’t be able to attract high profile talents if so…

Exactly. The pool of truly interesting designers is so small already! Daniel is perfect for the brand.

Besides why is it always the designers that are the first to be considered as the “problem”? What about Jonathan Akeroyd? Versace under his direction was at best a 1 billion dollar company. And before that he was at McQueen, a much smaller company again. I don’t think he has the capability to turn Burberry into such a power player given his resume.

What Burberry needs is a Francesca Belletini or Marco Bizzari, not someone like Akeroyd…

 

[LadyJunon]

Exactly. The pool of truly interesting designers is so small already! Daniel is perfect for the brand.

Besides why is it always the designers that are the first to be considered as the “problem”? What about Jonathan Akeroyd? Versace under his direction was at best a 1 billion dollar company. And before that he was at McQueen, a much smaller company again. I don’t think he has the capability to turn Burberry into such a power player given his resume.

What Burberry needs is a Francesca Belletini or Marco Bizzari, not someone like Akeroyd…

In truth, out of the current CEO roster, only Bizzari and Belletini could save this brand without succumbing to heavy licensing.

 

[Frederic01]

It’s no wonder brands like Burberry struggle in comparison to their peers, when you discover things like the fact that the current Chairman of Burberry came from TESCO?!

Burberry will never be able to compete with the key players in terms of CEOS etc within the LVMH group. These people enter the conglomerate at an early stage and work their way up, learning the intricacies and complexities of luxury fashion retailing.

People like Pietro Beccari, Francesca Belletini, Marco Bizzari, etc etc have decades of experience and deep understanding of the industry.

You can’t hire someone from TESCO and expect them to understand luxury fashion, let alone turn the company’s fortunes around. Are they out of their minds?!

 

[LadyJunon]

It’s no wonder brands like Burberry struggle in comparison to their peers, when you discover things like the fact that the current Chairman of Burberry came from TESCO?!

Burberry will never be able to compete with the key players in terms of CEOS etc within the LVMH group. These people enter the conglomerate at an early stage and work their way up, learning the intricacies and complexities of luxury fashion retailing.

People like Pietro Beccari, Francesca Belletini, Marco Bizzari, etc etc have decades of experience and deep understanding of the industry.

You can’t hire someone from TESCO and expect them to understand luxury fashion, let alone turn the company’s fortunes around. Are they out of their minds?!

I actually searched him up because I didn't believe him, but it's actually f*cking true:

Dr Gerald Martin Murphy:
• chairman of Burberry and Tesco (supermarket chain)
• appointed at Burberry in May 2018
• former chairman of Tate & Lyle (food and beverage supplier)
• former CEO of Kingfisher (home improvement company), Carlton Communication (media company), Exel (logistics company) and Greencore Group (convenience food producer)

This man has no business acting the chairman of a luxury outerwear company, and being allowed to do so for almost seven years. They need to replace him ASAP.