FASHION-BEAUTY

Launched today in digital format, Riccardo Tisci’s Spring/Summer 2022 Womenswear presentation was an instinctive, senses-led journey through the natural world

Words by: Gilda Bruno

For this SS22 Collection, Burberry chose to stage its comeback to the fashion world away from the spotlights of the just-finished London Fashion Week. Presented via a digital runway show made available to the public on Instagram, Burberry.com, and YouTube, the vision of Creative Director Riccardo Tisci manifested itself in Animal Instinct: an ode to nature and its numerous, unpredictable facets.

“For me, this collection represents the freedom of our imagination: how we dream of coming to life,” he explained, thus revealing the concept that informed the aesthetics of the whole presentation. Openly dedicated to Elmerinda Vetrano Tisci, the designer’s mother, who passed away on August 21, the presentation was an engaging invitation to life in all its possible connotations.

“I wanted to move through a series of immersive spaces, each of them unique and unexpected for sound, shapes, and overall experience. It’s like browsing through the infinite realities and fantasies that we have at our fingertips every day,” Tisci continued in what soon became a homage to his mother: the person who helped him turn his fantasies into an unprecedented series of real-life successes. “This is for my mother, Elmerinda, and for a journey full of new possibilities.”

The Burberry Spring/Summer 2022 Womenswear Presentation

In Burberry’s Spring/Summer 2022, the all-time classics of the English fashion house — including the inimitable Burberry trench coat — were deconstructed and brought back to life in a game of contrasting volumes, multiple layers, prints, and silhouettes, all leaning towards the futuristic. Pairing traditional gabardine Burberry with textured cotton and linen, this season’s outfits left little to the imagination revealing mesmerising swimwear pieces through purposeful cuts placed on the models’ backs.

Thanks to the juxtaposition of rich neutrals, from soft fawn and Burberry beige to dark brown and birch, and kaleidoscopic, colorful prints — including the Universal Passport graphics — the collection guided viewers through a journey inspired by the multisensorial essence of nature.

With ringing bells, artificial wind, and trot of horses setting the pace for the fashion show, models confidently walked their way through the suggestive settings of the presentation rocking styles as diverse as revisited boxy cut blazers (here turned into sleeveless versions), flowing dresses with cap sleeves, fringed, puff-shouldered mini dresses, and oversized jackets, all enriched with square toe calfskin sandals and Burberry trademark bags such as The Rhombi and Olympia. An outfit that stood out from the rest? Clearly the second-skin, glittery jumpsuit: a brave touch of light in an undoubtedly elegant collection.