Make or break might be too dramatic a way to look at it but the SS25 collection was significant for Burberry. The house is seeking to turn around its results after sales and share price dips. In July, Joshua Schulman became chief executive officer, bringing a fresh strategy for Britain’s biggest luxury fashion brand. He is expected to broaden the brand’s appeal with more accessible products and by the looks of the SS25 collection, designer Daniel Lee is not just embracing his new boss’s vision but is energised by it. This was his best Burberry collection yet.

The house’s new direction was reflected on Lee’s catwalk with a definite shift away from avant-garde looks towards what the designer termed “a real proposition”. Speaking backstage he said, “We need to find smart ways to evolve Burberry beyond a runway collection to what works in stores.”

Held in the foyer of the National Theatre, against a cut-out canvas installation by original Young British Artist Gary Hume, the show majored on ease, practicality and wearability epitomised by the trench. Lee deftly spun iconic trench details – flaps, straps and epaulettes onto coats, drummer boy jackets, safari suiting and capelets, for men and women. Pairing them with utility trousers and shorts in muted Burberry check or neutral tones. “You can wear them day to night. That’s what Burberry is for,” said Lee of his designs. Even the evening dresses – shimmying sequinned numbers, were worn with parkas. Skepta, Jodie Turner-Smith, Declan Rice, Damon Albarn, Jerry Hall, Patsy Kensit and Olivia Colman watched as models clip clopped along on clog mules carrying oversized saddle bags, some in the house check. It looked real, it looked modern – the kind of collection that could trot off the catwalk straight into your closet.

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