Burberry and the V&A will present The Burberry Trench: Crafting an Icon at V&A South Kensington from September 21, 2026, through January 3, 2027. The free display marks Burberry’s 170th anniversary and brings rare material from the Burberry Archive together with pieces from the museum’s collection.
EXHIBITIONS
The exhibition follows the trench coat from practical outerwear and military clothing to a globally recognized fashion design. Visitors will see how Burberry shaped the coat through fabric development, construction details and runway reinterpretations over more than a century.
The Prince Consort Gallery will host the exhibition. The V&A rarely opens the gallery to visitors. Its mahogany cabinets once held fabrics from the museum’s textile collection, giving the presentation a direct link to the study and preservation of clothing materials.
The first section, titled Invention, examines Thomas Burberry’s creation of cotton gabardine in 1879. The fabric gave wearers protection from changing weather while supporting the structure and comfort of the trench coat. Burberry’s use of gabardine helped establish the design as practical outerwear with a distinct visual identity.
The Craft section examines the construction details that define the coat. The display will feature the hand-finished collar, House Check lining, storm flap and detachable throat latch. Each element responds to weather protection and helps explain how the trench developed its recognizable form.
The final section, Creativity, presents 19 runway looks from the past 25 years. The selection includes designs by Burberry Chief Creative Officers Daniel Lee and Christopher Bailey. These looks show how the house has revised the trench through new proportions, fabrics, colors and styling while retaining its established structure.
The exhibition will also examine the long relationship between Burberry and the V&A. Oriole Cullen, Senior Curator of Fashion and Textiles at the museum, described the project as an opportunity to work with the Burberry Archive and present the coat’s history before the partners open a new Fashion Gallery.
Burberry Brand Curator Carly Eck said the anniversary gave the house an opportunity to share archival material with the public. The exhibition will include several objects that visitors have not previously seen, including early 20th-century catalogues and a Burberry trench coat that fashion designer Hardy Amies wore.
The Burberry Trench: Crafting an Icon arrives before the opening of The Burberry Gallery in autumn 2028. Burberry supports the renovation through a multi-year partnership with the V&A. The museum plans to redesign its fashion galleries at South Kensington and create a new space for visitors to study clothing, design and fashion history.
The Burberry Gallery will continue the collaboration after the trench exhibition closes. Until then, the Prince Consort Gallery will give visitors access to archival coats, technical details, historic catalogues and recent runway designs that explain how Burberry developed one of its best-known garments.
The Burberry Trench: Crafting an Icon
21 September 2026 – 3 January 2027
Prince Consort Gallery, V&A South Kensington
