Daniel Lee is the new chief designer for Burberry
Riccardo Tisci resigns after four years.

In early 2018, it was announced that Riccardo Tisci would take over from Christopher Bailey as chief designer for Burberry. By then, the latter had held the position for an incredible 17 years.

Tisci had long since become a fashion favorite with his role as chief designer for Givenchy. At Burberry, he was ready to shake up the arch-British brand. A completely new logo was quickly in place, then he dropped both fur and plastic from the collections and imitated streetwear by making small "drops" during the year.

With sales growth in his sights, he also started launching more hype-friendly products they could tease via social media. Business of Fashion wrote that the aim then "was to go from being an accessible player in the luxury market to an actual serious rival for Dior and Louis Vuitton".

One year later, growth had increased by four percent. Then followed a couple of years of tough times during the pandemic, before the arrows again pointed upwards in its wake.

Rumors have long circulated that Tisci is about to leave the position.

And today it was announced that Daniel Lee will be the new creative director for Burberry.

Or Chief Creative Officer (CCO) as it is called in English.

For most people, he is mainly associated with the enormous success he had at Bottega Veneta. Just one year after he was brought in as creative director there in 2018, the brand was named the world's most popular. He was behind several of the most hyped IT bags and made moves that everyone talked about, such as when the Italian fashion house dropped social media. According to GQ, turnover also increased in 2020 by over 4%. They thus passed one billion euros, which was the brand's best result since 2008.

Many were therefore very shocked when it became known early this year that he had resigned.

Afterward, there were whispers about a number of 'toxic' situations internally in which Lee was involved, as well as problems with communication and cooperation among the bosses. WWD wondered if there might have been a reason for the exit. His right-hand man Matthieu Blazy came in as the new creative director of the Italian fashion house.

Business of Fashion writes that the employment of Daniel Lee must have been part of a new strategy to boost sales.
They, therefore, bet heavily on his good "track record" also leading Burberry onto a golden path.

The British fashion house also brought in a new CEO this summer, namely Jonathan Akeroyd, who previously worked for Versace.

- Riccardo has played an enormously important role in repositioning Burberry. He has elevated our creative language, modernized and taken our product range to new heights, and brought in a new generation of luxury customers to our brand, writes Akeroyd in a statement published on the brand's Instagram earlier today.

May 09, 2023