There wasn’t a trenchcoat in sight at Burberry Prorsum on Monday afternoon as pink rose petals fell from the sky and covered the catwalk at the specially raised tent in Kensington Palace Gardens, to the rootsy tones of a heartfelt love song. The old purveyor of combat clothes had all but forgotten its starting place and turned to flower power with a collection of dusty pastels – lilac, rose pink, mint –and a whole lot of beige, lace dresses to make a Victorian heart sing (well, if they hadn’t been white and see-through), and floral ornamentation as pretty as the music was loud.
Indeed, there was a post-war quality of sensitivity and mellowness about Christopher Bailey’s collection, evident in fifties lengths and neck openings (Anna Wintour was already wearing it on the front row), and a mood so light and soft you almost couldn’t feel it. Gentle as it went, it was a very pretty collection with some particularly great summer coats, and if you’re out making love and not war anyway, you might as well do it with some Burberry on your back.
