Burberry have always set the bar pretty high when it comes to London Fashion Week, it’s usually the most talked about and anticipated show. For the last two seasons the fashion house have done something a little different. As well as host their catwalk show, they’ve then opened the doors to the public at Makers House which is open for a further week so you can look at the new collection up close and find out the inspiration behind the collection. I missed the chance to visit their September one so when I saw they were doing it again for February’s show I knew I couldn’t miss it.
The AW17 collection is inspired by British artist and sculptor Henry Moore. Entering Makers House you’re met with a video of the catwalk show leading through to frames of Moore’s exhibition posters which follows through to ‘The cape reimagined’, 78 limited edition capes created by Burberry and inspired by scale and form of Henry Moore’s sculptures. I loved the diversity of each of the capes, the different materials used and some of the intricate details that went into them were truly incredible to see up close. You’ll see some of them photographed below. I think my favourite had to be the grey and silver sequinned cape which looked like feathers, so angelic and elegant.
Leading on to the AW17 collection itself and a pop up Thomas’s cafe. I thought the collection was beautiful, there was so many beautiful materials used. I loved the use of layering some of the pieces, for instance a Breton with a lace shift dress on top. I found it very interesting to see the entire catwalk show to view just a day after the event. Upstairs was home to more of Moore’s sculptures, drawings, maquettes and found objects. Along with swatches, sketches, polaroids, photos and prototypes from Buberry’s creative team documenting the progress of the collection.
I found it very inspiring to see Burberry’s creative process from start to finish at Makers House. The exhibit gave you an insightful behind the scenes look into what goes into a creating a new collection and catwalk show. I think its very inspiring for young creatives to see this process from such a prestigious and renowned fashion house, for them to open their doors and show such an insight into what and how they’ve created their collection. I hope they’ll do it all again next season and I’d definitely recommend you check it out too. Keep an eye on Burberry’s social media around September, that’s how I found out about visiting Makers House this season. What do you think of the collection and did you make it to Makers House this season?