What Daniel Lee's Potential Appointment Could Mean for Burberry

YeEun Kim
·2 min read

After spending three years at the brand, Daniel Lee and Bottega Veneta abruptly parted ways in 2021, followed by the appointment of Matthieu Blazy as the new creative director for the house. With the recent rumors of the designer potentially replacing Riccardo Tisci at Burberry, we’re all curious to see if the news is true, and what this would all mean for the British fashion house.

Lee was appointed to helm Bottega in 2018 after having worked with Phoebe Philo for six years during her legendary “Old Céline” days. Prior to that, he built experience at Donna Karan, Maison Margiela and Balenciaga, where he interned under Nicolas Ghesquière.

A post shared by Hypebae (@hypebae)

As the new creative director, Lee blew life into the Italian fashion house, which had been struggling with tapping into the younger fashion demographic. He made the Intrecciato cool again, incorporating blown-up versions of the weave into now-iconic handbag styles like the Pouch and the Cassette. He also revamped the overall aesthetic of the brand, birthing the term “New Bottega.”

It wasn’t just Lee’s designs that brought the hype to Bottega. The creative director adopted an unusual no-social media strategy, removing the brand’s accounts in an age where social media presence is deemed crucial for brand identity and growth. Despite concerns, Lee pushed for the change, leaving ambassadors and fans to “speak for the brand” instead as shared by Kering CEO François-Henri Pinault at the time.

A post shared by Burberry (@burberry)

Now, time to talk about Riccardo Tisci and his impact on Burberry. The creative director joined the British house in 2018, replacing his predecessor Christopher Bailey. Quite the opposite from Lee, Tisci brought streetwear's "drop" model to the luxury brand, launching more frequent product releases after debuting a new logo and "TB" monogram for the house (remember all the Burberry flagships that were wrapped in the bold orange print?). The designer also tapped into collaborations, launching co-branded collections with Opening Ceremony, Vivienne Westwood and, of course, Supreme.

Despite the bold moves and strategies geared towards younger consumers, Tisci wasn't able to revive Burberry like Lee did at Bottega. While he did help with stabilizing the heritage label and outperformed sales predictions, Burberry didn't get its own version of "that" bag -- think Jacquemus' Le Chiquito or Balenciaga's Le Cagole.

So, what would it mean for Burberry to onboard a creative director like Daniel Lee? Given his record at Bottega, we can expect the unexpected. Just like he did with the Intrecciato, Lee could revamp Burberry's signatures such as the check print and the trench coat with his sleek approach. This would hopefully boost the Burberry brand with buzzy accessories, which luxury brands rely on to drive profit.

Stay tuned as we learn more about Daniel Lee's potential appointment at Burberry, as well as Tisci's upcoming collection scheduled for London Fashion Week later this month.