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Is Burberry making a mistake? | Fashion fail
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Is Burberry making a mistake? | Fashion fail

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Is Riccardo Tisci going to f*ck up Burberry?

This is the second time that Burberry has been at the forefront of fashion news this fortnight. The first time for their disposal of their left-over stock. That’s another issue which I actually wanted to write about. But, this may surprise you… The second piece of news – the controversial logo change – now THAT  has triggered me more than all of Burberry’s burning clothes.

THIS IS THE NEW BURBERRY LOGO (be prepared to be underwhelmed):

If you like this new logo, then your opinion is WRONG! 😛

Let me tell you why.

Christopher Bailey would not have committed such a crime when he was at the helm of Burberry.

To me, this logo change doesn’t seem to about Burberry. It screams ego-trip. It’s a power move by Tisci

What is it with new Creative Directors coming into historic brands and the first thing they do is rebrand? Sometimes it’s needed. Burberry could use an overhaul in some areas of their public image, but one thing it did not need is a brand new logo.

Part of their brand identity is heritage and history. This logo is what translates that to me:

My issue isn’t necessarily with Tisci trying to modernise and bring the brand into 2018. Maybe if the new logo was still a serif font I’d have less vexation.

The issue here is that:

  1. The sans-serif just is too over-simplified to translate the luxury and history that Burberry is meant to be all about. I get that many other luxury brands use serif, but there is something about this logo that’s not fitting for Burberry.
  2. This took four weeks to design. Come on now. Apparently, this project actually needed four months! FOUR. MONTHS. To design this… Okay then.
  3. Where is the creativity? It looks like a watered down version of every. other. new. logo. out there.
  4. Following on from this, I feel like these rebranded logos have become a meme of their own. We have Hedi Slimane changing Yves Saint Laurent‘s beautiful script into the plain ‘Saint Laurent’ that we have today. Raf Simmons just changed Calvin Klein’s logo, which was designed by Peter Saville, who, surprise suprise, has designed this new Burberry logo. I mean, just look at how diverse he can be…

We also have Céline, Balenciaga, Diane Von Furstenburg… (the list goes on) with similar looking logos. To me, this new logo is this meme:

Can I copy your homework? sure just change it up a bit so it doesn't look obvious... ok.

Even the new monogram is blah. Why do they need a monogram? We already have the iconic Burberry check. This monogram just looks like a souk’s version of Louis Vuitton and Goyard mashed together.

 

[Read: Five Fashion Fails: Lawsuits filed against fakes]

If it ain’t broke..

In his statement about taking the job [Tisci] said, “I have enormous respect for Burberry’s British heritage and global appeal,”

Vogue

Being British, Burberry is an important brand to me. 2016’s Christmas campaign starring Domhnall Gleeson as Thomas Burberry perfectly captured what the brand is all about. Tisci coming in and demanding a complete rebrand within four weeks doesn’t seem to be someone who really wants to get in touch with the heart of the brand’s history. Imagine the research and archives you’d have at your disposal and the amount of time that it would really take to understand the complexities of what works and also what doesn’t work.

It’s a very bold move, even arrogant, to assume you know the failings and to overhaul everything when you’ve only been in post a couple of months.

To me, this logo change doesn’t seem to about Burberry. It screams ego-trip. It’s a power move by Tisci who wants to show everyone that he’s the new person in charge and he can do what he wants and he’ll get all the praise for any of the publicity it gets.

Italian designers can be brash and bold, which works for certain brands. But here, for Burberry, whose essence lies in innovative practicality – think back to the 1901 classic trench that was designed for British and French soldiers – I can’t see how Tisci is a good match. Come September, we’ll see if I’m proven wrong. I do look forward to seeing Tisci’s first collection, however. Who knows, maybe I’ll review it?

A Burberry gift box

Do you have any thoughts on this? Am I overreacting??? Let me know if you disagree and you like the new logo; I’d be interested to know why!

If you like a ranty post check out my ‘trends that need to die in 2018’!

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