Protect. Explore. Inspire. Those three words are the touchstones on which Christopher Bailey built his “Heritage Biker” spring Burberry Prorsum collection. “Built?” you say. No other word quite sums the myriad of textures, fabrics and cuts that went into this dizzyingly dazzle of a collection. Shown at Burberry’s Horseferry Road headquarters in London and simultaneously beamed worldwide, not only was a significant chunk of the collection available for preorder immediately following the show, but the bags, in their shades of neon lime and turquoise, were an instant jolt of caffeine.
Not only was this show tightly edited, it was just plain tight. Witness the multiple variations on skintight leather biker leggings (get to the gym now) that were complemented by some ultrashort shirred or leopard-spot dresses. At the core Burberry will always remain an outerwear mainstay–and this collection certainly did not disappoint. Spring is all about a toughened up, macho female with a softer side. The outerwear zoomed (pardon the pun) in jackets with padded sleeves or leather-protective arms that was both fast paced and in your face. While the shoes are another story–they’ll take some time getting acclimated to–the impact of ultratight motorbike pants was a complete about turn from the highly tailored clothes, and in particular the gorgeous fall collection, that Bailey has worked so hard to achieve. The short trenches, made all the more desirable by their studs and spikes, were instant hits and are sure to be sell-outs (did you see the trench with the double row of buttons sewn on?). And for those women not quite ready to take a walk on that wild a side, well, there’s always a quilted jacket in sparkling silver leather.