BURBERRY SS26: FESTIVAL RHYTHMS, CAMPAIGNS OF REBELLION, & A SKY-PRINT TENT

Burberry’s Spring/Summer 2026 show, staged under the direction of Daniel Lee, closed out London Fashion Week in a blaze of music-infused spectacle. The runway was laid across a dirt field inside a sky-printed tent erected in Perks Field, Kensington Palace Gardens, a nod to Britain’s outdoors, festivals, and the brand’s own heritage. The set felt alive: overhead, a “cloudy summer sky” motif printed on the tent roof; underfoot, earth-tones and loam paved the path.

Lee leaned hard into sonic inspiration: the soundtrack blended tracks by Black Sabbath, and pieces channeled everything from indie sleaze to 1970s glam rock and hippie counterculture. The clothing woke up that soundscape: fringed coats, crocheted tops, sequence minis, leather suits, skinny ties, and distorted tartans pulsed through the show. Trench coats, a Burberry staple, appeared in new guises: prints, fabric experiments, and overlaid with tarot-card scarves.

It was a show about persona, nostalgia, and rebellion. Lee did not simply revisit heritage, he twisted it, juxtaposing vintage rock aesthetics with polished tailoring and contemporary luxury. Models flanked the runway in pieces that felt part stage costume, part streetwear anthem.  The audience resonated: front-row faces ranged from Elton John and Naomi Campbell to Ab Fab alumni Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley.

In sum, Burberry SS26 felt like an invitation to converge fashion and musical identity, to dress like your favorite band, but with street credibility and couture polish. It showed a brand willing not only to reference the past, but to spin it into something wild, expressive, and full of energy.