The V&A's new Burberry exhibition traces the history of the trench coat
Few pieces of clothing have the cultural mileage of the Burberry trench coat.
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pieces → trace → coat
In the world of luxury fashion, Burberry’s trench coat is both the most recognisable and the most replicated across mainstream brands.
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coat → replicate → brands
It’s a piece of clothing that still feels as sophisticated, wearable and practical as it was first intended.
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it → ’ → clothing
Designed as a waterproof wrap coat, then as a military uniform, the trench transformed into a functional civilian coat in the post-war period, before becoming a certified style icon.
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trench → design → period
It’s come a long way since its days of polar exploration and wartime service.
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It → come → exploration
Now, the V&A is celebrating that journey with The Burberry Trench: Crafting an Icon, a free display tracing more than a century of the coat’s evolution.
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V&A → celebrate → evolution
Ahead of its opening on Monday 21 September, I visited the exhibition, which neatly coincides with Burberry’s much-anticipated London Fashion Week closing show.
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which → visit → show
Small but beautifully presented in the museum’s mahogany-panelled Prince Consort Gallery, it brings together never-seen-before archival pieces with early design sketches and contemporary takes from creative directors Daniel Lee, Christopher Bailey and Riccardo Tisci.
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it → present → Lee
Contrary to popular commentary, the story starts not in the trenches, but with Thomas Burberry, who founded his eponymous company in 1856.
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who → start → 1856
In 1879, he invented gabardine – one of the most culturally and practically important fabrics in fashion history.
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he → invent → history
The material is a tightly woven cotton that’s lighter and more breathable than the heavy, waxed and rubberised materials traditionally used for waterproof clothing.
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that → weave → clothing
Ernest Shackleton became one of its poster boys during early 20th-century Arctic expeditions, while Dr. Fridtjof Nansen famously wore lightweight, weatherproof gabardine clothing on his pioneering expeditions.
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Nansen → become → expeditions
Patented in 1888, it became the technological foundation of Burberry’s outerwear – and eventually the trench itself.
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it → patent → outerwear
The coat’s direct predecessor was the Tielocken, patented by Burberry in 1912.
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predecessor → patent → 1912
Fastened with a single strap and buckle rather than conventional buttons, it was designed for practicality and movement.
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it → fasten → practicality
Then came the First World War, when Burberry adapted its outerwear for military use.
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Burberry → come → use
The trench coat was equipped with necessary wartime details (epaulettes, D-rings, a storm shield and a gun flap), all of which have endured to this day, albeit as decorative elements.
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all → equip → elements
Following the war, Burberry’s trench effortlessly slipped into civilian wardrobes.
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trench → follow → wardrobes
Its unrivalled weather protection, structure and movement made it particularly well suited to city and countryside life.
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it → make → life
Photographs in the exhibition reveal its growing sartorial status during the 20th century, as a grander flagship store opened in London’s Haymarket and European expansion began from Paris.
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expansion → reveal → Paris
In the mid-19th century, the trench became a staple of film noir – Humphrey Bogart wore one in Casablanca – and detective imagery, before Audrey Hepburn gave it a romantic edge in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
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Hepburn → become → Tiffany
Burberry’s transformation into a luxury ready-to-wear powerhouse began with Christopher Bailey in 2001.
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transformation → wear → 2001
The designer spearheaded a more high-fashion, avant-garde runway approach – see his experimental rhinestone and gold snakeskin trenches on display at the V&A. Bailey paved the way for Riccardo Tisci’s youthful, streetwear-inflected collections and Daniel Lee’s heritage revival tenure, from his colourful check Mary Quant-inspired trench to a ruffled version.
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Bailey → spearhead → version
That complex, fascinating history has no doubt helped make the trench so enduring.
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trench → help → ?
The exhibition’s section on the coat’s recognisable signatures – double-breasted front, belted waist, storm flap and distinctive collar – evokes its continued contemporary influence.
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section → evoke → influence
Just take one look at this season’s high street outerwear collections, from funnel necks to shoulder padding, and Burberry’s impact is clear.
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impact → take → padding
The V&A’s new display is divided into invention, craft and creativity, moving from the origins of gabardine and the coat’s functional construction to its transformation into a fashion icon.
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display → divide → icon
Among the archival highlights are a 1939 trench worn by a British Army lieutenant colonel, a bespoke 1979 Burberry car coat belonging to the Royal family’s Savile Row designer Hardy Amies, and a rare 1929 red ski suit, complete with a red wool hat and mittens.
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trench → wear → hat
I left the show determined to find a version of the exhibition's bottle-green trench coat on Vinted or eBay.
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I → leave → Vinted
The Aporia
