Burberry launches The Trench, Portraits of an Icon campaign by bringing together twenty-three figures from film, music, sport, and fashion to interpret the trench coat through their own presence. The cast includes Agyness Deyn, Alva Claire, Bright, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Eberechi Eze, Erin O’Connor, Hikaru Utada, Iris Lasnet, J.Y. Park, Jack Draper, Jonathan Bailey, Karen Elson, Kate Moss, Kendall Jenner, Kid Cudi, Kristin Scott Thomas, Little Simz, Matthew Macfadyen, Reece Clarke, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Sora Choi, Teyana Taylor, and Wu Lei.
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Photographer Tim Walker captures the campaign through a series of black-and-white portraits that focus on physical expression and surface detail. Turned collars, loosely fastened belts, and shifting silhouettes reveal how individuals adapt the coat to their own form. Chief Creative Officer Daniel Lee describes the project as an invitation to collaborators across creative disciplines to engage directly with one of Burberry’s defining designs.
A documentary film expands the campaign by recording unscripted exchanges between cast and crew. Set to a soundtrack by Blur, the film situates the trench coat within a contemporary British cultural environment defined by artistic production and creative exchange.
Burberry connects the campaign to its 170-year history and to the invention of gabardine by founder Thomas Burberry in 1879. This material introduced a new approach to outerwear by providing resistance to weather while preserving freedom of movement. The trench coat developed from this innovation and continues to define the house’s identity through its functional structure and adaptability across contexts.
The campaign introduces the expanded Heritage Collection, which includes five established silhouettes alongside a new design. The Kensington, Waterloo, and Chelsea trench coats remain central to the range, joined by the Camden car coat and the Mayfair trench jacket. The Mayfair introduces a cropped proportion that expands the collection’s structure. Each piece originates from the Castleford manufacturing site in England, where Burberry has produced rainwear for more than fifty years. Cotton gabardine provides crease resistance and structural clarity, while the beige House Check lines the interior. Fabrics originate from the Burberry Mill in Keighley, Yorkshire, and each coat uses organic cotton for the outer material and lining.
New interpretations extend the trench coat’s form through adjusted proportion and fabric weight. The Fitzrovia trench and Ellingham car coat introduce wider sleeves and increased volume through the body. Tropical gabardine provides a lighter option developed for warmer climates, presented in pale sugar pink, stone beige, and graphite grey.
Retail spaces support the campaign through window installations and dedicated pop-up locations. Stores present trench silhouettes alongside Walker’s portraits, creating gallery-style displays that position the garment within a visual narrative. Pop-ups appear in London on Regent Street, at Isetan Shinjuku in Tokyo, at Lotte Main in Seoul, and on 57th Street in New York.
