About Burberry
Burberry is a British luxury brand, headquartered in London. Since being founded in 1856, Burberry has been guided by the core belief that Creativity Opens Spaces. From developing outerwear that allowed daring men and women to surpass the limits of human endeavor to being a luxury pioneer in the digital space, our purpose is to unlock the power of imagination to push boundaries and open new possibilities for our people, our customers and our communities.
1856: Thomas Burberry establishes Burberry in Basingstoke at just 21 years old, founded on the principle that clothing should be designed to protect people from the British weather.
1879: Thomas Burberry invents gabardine the breathable, weatherproof and hardwearing fabric revolutionizing rainwear – which up until then had typically been heavy and uncomfortable to wear. Gabardine was then patented in 1888.
1901: The company runs a public competition to design a new logo for the brand. The winning entry is inspired by 13th and 14th-century armour on display at the Wallace collection in London – and the equestrian knight device is born.
1912: The Tielocken coat, designed by Thomas Burberry, is patented. Considered the predecessor to the trench coat, the Tielocken closes with a single strap and buckle fastening and only features a button at the collar.
1914-1918: The Burberry trench coat is invented during the First World War. The functional design includes epaulettes used to suspend military equipment such as gloves and whistles, D-rings used to carry grenades, the gun flap to provide additional protection when in action and the storm shield to allow water to run off it smoothly.
1920s: The Burberry check is introduced as a lining to our rainwear.
1999: Burberry’s becomes Burberry and a new logo is designed by art director Fabien Baron.
