It’s been over 20 years since Kate Moss was papped traipsing through the mud in mini dresses, fringed waistcoats, and Hunter wellies alongside Pete Doherty at Glastonbury, but her 2005 looks continue to grip us in a chokehold. Up and down Instagram, as festival season gets underway in the early summer months, the supermodel’s pics are plastered as sources of inspiration, and if this season’s Burberry show was anything to go by, Daniel Lee was among those pinning her to his Pinterest board ahead of putting together his SS26 collection for the iconic house. Moss’s understated looks embodied the insouciant vibe that came with heading into a field for a long weekend armed only with baby wipes, messy hair and thrown-on, crumpled garments, speaking of a time when festivals were actually about losing your mind to a bunch of your fave bands over capturing the best content for your social media dump, and for that, they will always be famous. Ticket lost in the post? Here’s everything you need to know.

THE FESTIVAL TENT GOT AN UPGRADE

Fashion people might not come across as particularly outdoorsy, but Daniel Lee loves a tent. The Bradford-born designer has made a point of erecting a massive one at each of his shows since taking over Burberry in 2022, landing in a swathe of London’s best green spaces, like Highbury Fields and Victoria Park, across the course of the last three years. Don’t be thinking mud-strewn, half-collapsed, stinks-of-stale-cider little numbers though – they’re always more in line with the posh bit of the festival, where premium spenders rock up to luxury yurts kitted out with air beds and power outlets. This time, Lee took over a private garden in a corner of Hyde Park with a tent that had blue skies and white clouds plastered across its ceiling, while dusty terracotta mud covered the floor. Thankfully, the forecast was good, because had it turned into the kind of mud bath we often get at British festivals, a lot of expensive shoes would have definitely paid the price.

LACROIX, SWEETIE? NO, BURBERRY DARLING

The list of stars landing at the show was more impressive than ever. Daniel Lee managed to draw in not only his regular Burberry crowd, spanning Skepta, Central Cee, Raye, and Olivia Dean, but also convinced some new faces to come down and get involved. Among them was Elton John, who sat alongside West End Devil Wears Prada actor Vanessa Williams (the musician wrote a couple of the numbers featured in the recently-opened musical). The celeb spot that took everyone out, however, was Ab Fab’s Edina Monsoon and Patsy Stone, AKA Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley. Kitted out in the classic Burberry Nova check, the sitcom legends caught up with OG supermodel Twiggy as they waited for the show to get started. 

THE COLLECTION PAID HOMAGE TO BRITISH MUSIC AND SUBCULTURE

There was a really youthful, optimistic vibe to Lee’s latest collection. Where last season’s offering was pretty muted in tone, it felt like the designer had refound his confidence colour-wise for SS26, experimenting and mixing together mad hues that shouldn’t have worked together but really did – Burberry SS26 was closer to his offbeat outings at Bottega Veneta than we’ve ever seen before. As bangers from the likes of Black Sabbath – likely a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne who passed away in July – blasted out at an unholy decibel, guests were taken on a journey through British music’s best eras. 

Shrunken suiting with cropped cuffs and hems, as well as swinging minis and A-line pinafore dresses, channelled 60s Mod, while skinny tailored trousers, butter-soft leather jackets, and nipped trenches in Stabilo shades of teal, buttercup yellow, and lipstick pink nodded simultaneously to the 1980s and indie sleaze-rs of the mid 00s who adopted the styles as their own, and the hippy spirit of the 60s came through in crocheted bra tops and slinky little cami dresses with embroidered detailing, with lots of looks completed with skinny fringed scarves and slouchy, well-worn coats. Modern flourishes, like the futuristic mirrored sunglasses many of the models wore, kept the whole thing fresh and rooted in the now, rather than allowing it to slip into tired pastiche.

NO NOVA!

One thing that stood out this season was the distinct lack of Burberry Nova check on show, as well as very few of the classic beige trench coats the house made its name on. After a big resurgence somewhere around the start of the pandemic – when Burberry linked up with Palace to bring the iconic motif to a new audience – it felt like this season, Lee put the pattern to bed and instead focused on being bolder, and channelling the brand’s codes into something more directional. Also missing was the trench, with just two seen among the offering. But when you know you can always get your hands on one in-store, why bother putting them on the runway at all? Lee seemed to realise that’s the place for the real fashions, this season more than any other.