Designer and Co. Profiles

I will add one new designer or company profile to this page for every post. Enjoy!

Burberry
Burberry was founded by Thomas Burberry in 1856 in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, (only a few kilometers/miles from where I used to live). He is largely credited for introducing the coat that birthed what we know today as the trench coat(around the time of World War I), and Burberry also invented gaberdine(in 1880). Burberry gained recognition as the company began to outfit famous explorers, such as Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole(1911).

Style icons from Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca to Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's made the trench coat look unforgettably chic—it wasn't until the late 1990's that the house became known for much beyond mackintoshes(another term for the trench coat) and its famous signature beige check.

Rose Marie Bravo was named chief executive in 1997 and pioneered the company as a luxury brand. The Burberry Prorsum ready-to-wear collection was launched and designed by Roberto Menichetti in 1998. An ad campaign shot by Mario Testino and starring Kate Moss and Stella Tennant followed, recasting Burberry's conservative image as youthful, hip, and sexy while still emphasizing its quintessential Britishness.  The introduction of fragrance, menswear, and accessories have also been a more recent expansion.

Today, Burberry has been revamped(since 2001) by Christopher Bailey(the lead creative) who worked for Tom Ford(Gucci) and Donna Karan. Emma Watson(of the Harry Potter series) and her brother Alex have been featured recently in their ad campaigns.