Burberry Lines New Coats in ’60s Panache

Burberry made its name with a coat. And with creative director Christopher Bailey’s Burberry Prorsum autumn/winter collection, it would be hard to overlook the fact that it’s still one of the things the British brand does best. The designer sent a steady stream of them down the runway Monday, be it the iconic trench, military or fur.

The rest of the collection was pared down, making the coats stand out all the more. But even the outerwear had a clean ’60s feel about it. It was an aesthetic the meticulous Mr. Bailey had taken from the label’s archives—this time from photographs of Jean Shrimpton shot by Patrick Lichfield for Burberry ads back in the ’60s. “I wanted the opulence of the ’60s. That optimism; people felt like the world was getting exciting and was about to fizz,” the English designer said.

Ms. Shrimpton’s fresh beauty could also be seen in the school-girl dresses with dropped waists and feminine details added to the structured coats. “I loved the kind of ’60s feel,” said model Stella Tennant, who was on the star-studded front row with the likes of The Kills’ rockers Jamie Hince and Alison Mossheart, photographer Mario Testino and actresses Rachel Bilson and Kate Bosworth. “I loved the tight shoulders and the voluminous sleeves. The silhouettes where you’ve got something very big on top and very tiny underneath. And the color! So great to see some bright color. I’m fed up with black and gray.”

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