Christopher Bailey tucked into a coat feast for his Autumn Winter 2011 collection. He pulled out just about every shape and form there is for his coat parade, incorporating trench, duffel and pea coats, double and single breasted, slim and over sized, and leather, fur, wool and down materials. Fake fur even came as part of elaborate cable knits, and flap caps were made out of mink fur. Bailey also went to town with his colour choices; green, red and yellow shared the catwalk with... beige! But with its mohair knits and lacquered cottons, Burberry managed to pull off even that. 

Checks were present but in a generic over sized version, subtly referencing the brand’s heritage while still keeping the sartorial bar high. For the grande finale, Bailey saluted the British weather paranoia and the traditional coat expertise of the brand by pouring litre after litre of water on the catwalk and a dozen of models in see-through water-proof capes.

Dazed Digital: Where did you look for inspiration?
Christopher Bailey: I found these Burberry raincoat images from an early 1960s ad campaign. I love the idea of Burberry weather boys! There’s such an obsession with the weather in the UK and I wanted to explore that.

DD: What about the rain finale...
Christopher Bailey: A bit silly but I think it’s OK to be a bit silly sometimes. I wanted something that felt real but still had some emotion and a bit of poetry.

DD: There was clearly a coat theme...
Christopher Bailey: I wanted it to be a celebration of where Burberry comes from and we are a coat company. 

DD: What were the hats made out of?
Christopher Bailey:  They were mink fur flap claps. 

DD: How was the show divided?
Christopher Bailey: The first part was about the rain and fog, second was about the wind and feeling safe and secure, and lastly it was about snow!

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