gq inc. | evolution

There’s more t o opera ting a successful fashion label t han the making of a simply running up a nice pair of s trides on a sewing machin e. We go inside one of t he brands t hat’s doing i t bes t. 21st cen tury brand

words ceri david

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It’s 10pm on a Tuesday nigh t Naturally, the band is dressed in Burberry. specific axis of evil, where celebrities and “We don’t normally look this smart,” Wilson bogans collide. and 900 of L ondon’s hip quips into the mic, before taking off his Founded by Thomas Burberry in 1856, blazer, draping it neatly on a coathanger, and the label’s early highlights include dressing young t hings are sardined hooking it on the drum kit behind him. With Sir Ernest Shackleton for his Antarctica pitch-perfect wit, he goes on to tut at the expedition, and kitting out World War I into t he B urberry flagship crowd for not being as good as the one at the officers with raincoats for use in the trenches Chiefs’ last gig, joking that it was at Hamleys – aka, you guessed it, “trench” coats. store on R egent St reet. – the world-famous toy shop across the road. Built on that heritage, things had been It’s a cute, meta-tastic nod to the fact this is going well, until the late 1990s when, among no ordinary concert. The audience loves it. a certain faction of the clothes-buying public, I, for one, can’t remember ever before designer labels had become the holy grail. Champagne is flowing like it’s a basic human sipping French champagne at an indie gig And if hard-earned cash was going to be right; body heat and boozy chatter fills the – and from an actual flute. What makes it blown, they weren’t going to make a secret of air. Everyone has one eye on the circling all the more surreal is it’s happening with it. The more branding and logos, the better. canapés and the other on the stage, as mannequins and various pods of floor stock In Burberry’s case, the trademark camel- anticipation builds. And builds, until... still dotted around. Every now and then coloured check made a dramatic escape from “Hello London!” yells Ricky Wilson, there’s a smash and a shriek, and I hope A host of entries the lining of its coats, and started appearing featured on the Kaiser Chiefs frontman, in ironic stadium- Burberry has thought this through. brand’s ‘Art of on baseball caps, scarves, shoes, T-shirts – rock style. “I can’t hear you!” Then, across the room, I catch a glimpse Trench’ blog. sometimes all in the same outfit. The crowd surges forward for a better of Christopher Bailey, Burberry’s Chief Yes, Burberry was selling, but economists view, filling every nook of the huge ground- Creative Officer, nice guy and all-round felt the brand had been so badly devalued by floor space, and up on the mezzanine – the business genius, and I know I needn’t worry. “It’s a richer experience than what some its association with the UK’s “chav culture”, store was a cinema in its original incarnation, people see as just a luxury fashion brand,” he football hooliganism and D-list soap stars when it was built in 1820 – countless iPhones says, with a pause and a smile. “It’s fun.” that it may not bounce back. reach out, lighting up the dark to record And he’s right – it is fun, whether it’s one Looking at the brand today, in 2013, “You can’ t be one-dimensional. from on high. of the Live at 121 gigs; the ‘Art of Trench’ it’s easy to dismiss those opinions as The Kaiser Chiefs gig kicks off Live at It has to be more than just clothes,” says blog, where people send in snapshots of scaremongering and to view the dark days 121 Regent Street – a series of intimate events Bailey. It’s earlier the same day, a few hours themselves in Burberry raincoats, in the hope as a minor blip on Burberry’s timeline. bringing together British music and fashion, before the concert begins, and we’re sitting in of being featured; or watching the runway But in truth, the company spent a lot of and the atmosphere is electric – hardly his white, airy, immaculate office – much like shows streamed live, online and to stores time, effort and a huge amount of money to surprising given tickets to the glitzy soiree heaven as often portrayed in films – at the around the world. If it weren’t fun, how else win back credibility, with three influential were free. top of the company’s seven-storey London to explain the fact Burberry has more than people given credit for the transformation: HQ. “You have to create an environment 15 million fans on Facebook. (To put that Angela Ahrendts, the company’s current around clothes to create context. Then into perspective, GQ Australia has just over CEO, her predecessor, Rose Marie Bravo around the environment, you have to create 20,000, and we’re really proud of that.) and of course, Bailey. a spirit and an energy. And around that, you It’s a strategy that’s clearly working. In The campaign to realign the brand with have to create an audience that’s excited about May, the company reported a 14 per cent rise its roots was a mammoth clean-up effort, what you’re doing.” in annual profits, to $708m – better than even spanning several years. Licences were It sounds complicated, but it’s not. The Burberry forecast. Sales of menswear alone terminated (from 32 product licenses in same mentality makes people embrace grew by 40 per cent in 2012. 1998 to three in 2011), retail outlets were the Apple generation, even though the Of course, the path of true fashion never rebranded, wholesale and franchise accounts products cost far more than its competition. runs straight and it’s a rare brand that doesn’t were closed. They overhauled operations, And it’s why people buy into Nike and the lose its way at some point. For Burberry, supply chains and IT systems, and gathered Burberry’s “Just Do It” ethos. They want to be a part that off-piste moment came thanks to a very all teams into a central London mega-hub Christopher Bailey of something greater than just laptops or where they could all pin down the vision and Cara Delevingne; Burberry’s ‘Shop the running shoes. They want their choices to and embrace it. Runaway’ website. express their personality. And they want to In short: Burberry took back control. feel something. “When clothes become just products, they “it’s a richer lose their spirit,” Bailey continues, in his Design was always some thing lilting Yorkshire accent. “It’s important to experience make sure people don’t forget the emotion.” Bailey had an eye for – even as a youngster. Change the odd noun, and he could be an than wha t some He tells a story about a shopping trip with old-school gourmand, confused by the notion people see as his parents, to replace their sofa. “My mum that, to some people, food might be nothing and dad chose one, and I just couldn’t cope. more than fuel. just a luxury I couldn’t understand why my mum, my “That’s a great analogy,” he says, laughing. dad, my sister were getting excited about all “I may borrow it if you don’t mind.” fashion brand. these things in this ugly furniture shop, and Either way, we can all agree Burberry’s I couldn’t relate to it at all. I couldn’t pretend. raison d’être is much bigger than to simply it’s fun.” But the problem was, I couldn’t see anything I ensure we don’t turn up at work naked. liked. It was a real pivotal moment for me.”

150 gq.com.au september/october 2013 gq.com.au september/october 2013 151 gq inc. | Evolution Hence the idea of tying this new men’s He realised the way forward was to design fragrance, Brit Rhythm, into the theme. things himself. But how did he end up “We wanted it to have the adrenaline and choosing fashion, specifically? energy of music. We’ve taken the iconic Brit “I’m not sure I ever did,” he says. “My bottle shape, but given it a studded leather art teacher sent my work to art schools, and jacket. It’s got cedarwood and incense and for some reason I ended up in the fashion leathery tones. There’s a real sexiness to it.” department. At the time I was like, yeah cool Historically, this side of the business – I was in art school and that was all I cared was handled externally by French perfume about. You’re not thinking about pensions. company InterParfums, but that changed The fashion kids were the smokers and the recently, when the brand established its own drinkers – they were having the most fun. in-house business division called Burberry They loved music, that was big for me, too.” Beauty. Buying back the licence cost them After cutting his teeth at Donna Karan a cool $234m, which just goes to show how and Gucci, Bailey joined Burberry in 2001 important the cosmetics sector is to a fashion and spent his first few months trawling brand. Once again, it was about taking back the design archives, coming up with ways control and doing things its own way. to re-focus the classics, while bringing them up-to-date. Eight years later he was awarded an MBE from the Queen for services to Fast forward t o J une, and w hat British fashion. These days he leads around 1000 people, could be mistaken for a muddy country lane, yet still seems calm, happy and down-to- were it not for the fact we’ve just jumped earth. How that’s remotely possible is beyond out of a cab in Kensington. It’s the final me, given how busy his days must be. day of London Collections: Men (the UK’s “I do 10 or 11 hours,” he says. “They’re still biannual menswear shows) and a trail of big days. But I used to be nuts. They used to editors and fashion buyers in buffed brogues be 16 hours. That was bonkers. I used to be and teetering stiletto heels sidestep puddles, crap at work-life balance, but I figured it out. gravel and a host of other hazards. (Note It’s easy, actually. You just have to be rigid, to self: develop this as a video game, where and say ‘I’m not going to come in until that obstacles impede impractically dressed time, and I’m going to go home at that time, fashionistas who have to make it to the front and I’m going to arrange to see my family or In truth, Bailey could be talking about row without spilling champagne, or risk my friends and they’ll come round or we’ll go himself, because the strongest thing that losing valuable advertising revenue.) out to dinner, and I will not cancel because it comes across is how incredibly nice he is, It’s a hot, steamy summer’s day, and the air would be rude.’” not to mention polite, generous, thoughtful, Clockwise from bottle flashes up on the wall, timed to the is thick with the smell of grass as we tiptoe the five keys top left: On the It’s a good motivator, given that seeing friendly – all of which marks him out as an runway at SS14 deafening beat. towards the biggest marquee I’ve ever laid friends and family is Bailey’s favourite way oddity in the cutthroat world of fashion. to success Burberry Prorsum In the next room, a chandelier of bottles eyes on, erected for the Spring-Summer ’14 to spend his free time, as well as walking “That’s definitely the reputation of the menswear show, hangs from the ceiling, the new scent fired at Burberry Prorsum menswear show, bang in London; singer his dog, Beckett – named after Samuel – in industry,” he’s laughing again. “But we’ve got LA Salami; actor us from bubble machines while footage from the middle of Kensington Gardens. For the A good produc t the countryside and spending time with his lots of people in this company and they’re all Hugh Dancy; the ad campaign – set at a rock concert – plays past 10 years, it’s taken place in Milan, so this Well, there’s no point having all the husband, actor Simon Woods. Could he ever lovely. I think sometimes the less nice people model David on a bank of screens. It’s dark and gritty and marks a welcome return to home soil. 1 extra trimming without something Gandy; live feed envisage having children? just get lots of coverage. solid at the centre of the business. from the show. feels like we’ve accidentally wandered into a Inspired by colourful characters including “I love kids, so never say never.” “I can be tough as well,” he insists, “but gig, even though five minutes ago we were David Hockney and Alan Bennett, the Which perhaps helps explain how one I try to do it in a kind and caring way. You An experience eating croissants and sipping tea. runway collection has a bright, nautical, Romeo Beckham popped up in a recent know: ‘Guys, you screwed up here, and now What would add value and context “Music is an important and integral part of tailored style to it and at the end, Bailey 2 to that central focus, making advertising campaign. Bailey’s long been you need to figure this out’. If you’re just nice, our DNA,” says Bailey – which really comes appears for a moment, before dashing shyly existing customers feel special, known to tap into up-and-coming talent, you’ll end up being not-very-nice when the while attracting new ones? down to his own love of music. “I like blues, backstage. The show has been beamed live all from Cara Delevingne to Eddie Redmayne company’s not doing well and no one has a rock, modern, pop. I like Jake Bugg and Tom over the world, and social networks are going – all of whom did their bit in helping job. That’s not nice. That’s kind of rubbish.” Two-way communica tion Odell, but also the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan crazy, reporting on the famous faces present Burberry re-establish its sense of cool – The customer has to be at the heart and Joni Mitchell. And classical music too.” (David Gandy, Tinie Tempah, Douglas but this took it to another level. “Romeo’s 3 of the business, and how better It was his idea to integrate that passion into Booth...) as well as the collection itself. On always loved clothes, just like his dad,” to hear their views than through the brand, thus the Live at 121 shows, as well the Burberry website, fans can ‘Shop the The noise, when i t s tarts, forums, social media, live events. says Bailey. “And Victoria’s a friend. I sent as a project called Burberry Acoustic, which Runway’, buying what was shown, right here her a text a couple of months ago and said, sounds like a heartbeat – if you can imagine Control supports young British musicians, posting and now, months before it arrives in store. ‘Should we do something? It could be great.’ a heartbeat at 100 decibels. The walls are Without it, everything is subject to exclusively filmed sets on the site, and on the Meanwhile, back in real life, there’s music And she said yes.” shaking, and people look confused, then 4 external variables that might not brand’s own YouTube channel. and drinks on the lawn and the balmy For anyone convinced the Beckham relieved when it becomes clear it’s the start of align with your brand. “Music and fashion are good bedfellows,” afternoon stretches into evening in that offspring must be spoilt brats, prepare to be the fragrance launch and not, for example, an Bailey explains. “I love the way music perfectly British way. A spiri t of reinven tion disappointed. “If every kid was like Romeo, alien landing. A door slides open, billowing transports you, and that feeling when you’re Just how Burberry wants it. n Got it wrong? Don’t be afraid to go we’d be lucky. He’s so sweet and lovely – with dry ice, and we move into the next space, listening to a song, and the hairs on the back Burberry Brit Rhythm Eau de Toilette, $105 5 back to grass roots and start again, such beautiful manners.” where a giant silhouette of the new fragrance learning from your mistakes. of your neck stand up. Fashion does that too.” (90ml), is in stores from September 23.

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