After 17 years at the helm of Burberry, Christopher Bailey took his bow on the Saturday night of London Fashion Week following the presentation of his final collection.
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But what next for the man who’s been synonymous with the British fashion house for almost two decades? Speaking to WWD, Bailey reflected on his time at the brand and revealed what his immediate future holds when walks out of Burberry HQ on his final day – March 31.
“I’m going to definitely spend time with my two beautiful little girls, and then I’m exploring, I’m talking to people. I’m still curious, but I really very genuinely haven’t decided how I want this next phase of my life… But I feel very calm about it,” Bailey explained. “I’ve been really fortunate to have worked somewhere that I loved, so I’m not in a rush to run into something. I want to take my time. And that could end up being something big again or could end up being something tiny and very artisanal.”
Bailey did insinuate that an eponymous label is not a likely next move, revealing that a signature collection “has definitely never been an objective or a dream”.
Reflecting on his greatest achievements at the brand, including the creation of the Burberry foundation, he singled out his final collection and why he chose to dedicate it to LGBTQ youth. “We have an amazing platform to say, ‘Having a united world, having a world without barriers, without walls, where we respect and admire, where your relationships are built on the foundation of wanting to learn and be curious rather than to close off,'” he explained. “It was always a part of my aspiration when I joined the company that it could be more than just fashion, that it could be something a little more significant. We’re a big company and I think big companies have a duty and a responsibility to give back.”
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