Set in a forest that seems straight out of a fairytale, Burberry’s Spring/Summer 2021 collection, appropriately titled “In Bloom,” takes us on a wild and whimsical journey. Live streamed on multiple platforms, the show had epic hosts Erykah Badhu, Bella Hadid, Steve Lacy, and Rosalía, delivering a fresh experience of fashion, storytelling, and performance.

Designer and Chief Creative Officer of Burberry Riccardo Tisci brought us into another world in this collaboration with visual artist Anne Imhof, working together to narrate a tale of the sea and the earth. The collection itself draws heavy inspiration from the natural world and becomes an ode to the power of water, an element that humans and the environment need to live, to bloom.

Burberry’s menswear for the season is right in theme with the mystical and mythological elements of the womenswear collection, delivering rugged elegance and sailor-esque aesthetics with the use of denim, rubber, and most importantly, gabardine. Gabardine is a tightly woven fabric that repels water, often worn by mariners, created by Thomas Burberry and used in the iconic Burberry trench coat. Tisci draws on this meaningful reference to express an appreciation for water, how it is so closely connected to each of us, and it is connected to the essence of Burberry.

As Tisci appreciates the long history of Burberry, this collection also represents a sort of changing of the tides, a modern move for the heritage brand. Tisci reinterprets the spirit of the brand, explicitly seen in the full-length trench coat infused with denim. Also stepping away from the Burberry tartan we all know and love, the collection has a palette of deep blues and vibrant oranges, though there are hints of traditional Burberry beige, bringing us into another stylistic world.

Burberry’s SS21 collection truly brings fiction to life, creating their own narrative in the live stream and crafting a story with the fabric and silhouette choices in this collection.