Burberry goes global digital, live from Beijing

BEIJING, CHINA — In 1999, I became Burberry-obsessed when I saw a photo of a taffeta ball skirt in a British magazine. I had to have the skirt, the bucket hat, the cylinder bag, and of course, the scarves — in the classic Burberry plaid.

At that time Rose Marie Bravo was the chief executive behind the British luxury brand. In 2001, she recruited a young Christopher Bailey from Gucci, who remains Burberry chief creative officer to this day.

The decision turned out to be a good one as Burberry’s product line was increased, resulting in more than double profits.

Burberry chief creative officer Christopher Bailey andFan Bing Bing

To date there are more than 400 Burberry stores worldwide, 57 of which are in China alone, with plans to double that number in the next few years.

In keeping with the times, Burberry recognizes the importance of marketing innovation as seen in the burberry.com website, which allows customers to connect with the brand through its heritage, music and videos, and more importantly, an online luxury shopping experience.

Another site, artofthetrench.com, documents the trench coat and the people who wear it.

As of this writing Burberry has 7,468,657 fans on Facebook, l “!/Burberry/followers”461,958 followers on Twitter, and 6,647,978 views on its YouTube channel.

As the world turns to the Internet, Burberry strives to break new ground in the reach and impact of its fashion shows. And now, with livestream technology, Burberry fans can view fashion shows from the comforts of their own environment worldwide.

These and more are what we experienced in Beijing as Christopher Bailey hosted the brand’s most technologically innovative event to date.

Façade of the Burberry flagship store at Sparkle Roll, Beijing, China

Flown via Cathay Pacific Business Class, we checked in at the Ritz-Carlton Beijing in the afternoon and gathered at the lobby at 7:30 p.m.

Along with lifestyle and fashion writers from the region, we spotted a group of good-looking Burberry-suited men, among them Christopher Bailey who was introduced to his “date” for the evening, Chinese singer/actress Fan Bing Bing.

By 8 p.m., we were shuttled by cars to the Beijing Television Centre where 1,000 guests arrived, led by Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts. Among them: Burberry-clad British actors Sam Claflin and Douglas Booth, Maggie Cheung, Li Bing Bing, Won Bin, Chen Kun, Du Juan, Dou Xiao, Shang Wen Jie, Yan Ni, Jia Nai Liang, Rock Ji, Super VC, Philip Huang and VJ Zhu Zhu. (Interestingly, the dress code was “disheveled elegance.”)

No expenses were obviously spared as we were led into a darkened 2,000-square-meter sound stage overflowing with cocktails.

Using groundbreaking virtual image technology, we were taken through four British seasons of weather via wall and ceiling projections complemented by carefully curated music.

The Burberry flagship store in Beijing is the most technologically advanced, with a giant 5x9m LED exterior wall that streamed the live event.

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In an out-of-this-world fashion show, British models Cara Delevingne, Edie Campbell, Jourdan Dunn, Charlie France, Seb Brice and Chinese model Shupei were joined by life-like holograms of themselves. It was difficult to tell the difference between hologram and model until one of them would turn into snow and disappear before coming back in a whole new outfit.

After the runway show, British band Keane performed a 40-minute concert, followed by live sets by British model/DJ Tom Guinness and Chinese DJ ShanXi.

The event was live-streamed globally through burberry.com and over 200 partner sites around the world, as well as streamed directly into over 50 Retail Theatres at Burberry stores around the world.

One thousand guests arrived at the Beijing Television Centre to witness Burberry’s global digital event.

The following day we walked from the Ritz-Carlton to the nearby flagship store at Sparkle Roll Plaza, where we were toured around the 1,160-square-meter space.

It is the brand’s most technologically advanced store in Beijing, with a giant 5x9m LED wall outside and a 3x5m video wall inside to showcase Burberry content. It features the Retail Theatre concept, which allows customers to watch content directly from the global headquarters in London.

The store reflects the new Burberry design concept developed by Christopher Bailey, who chose all the music played in advanced sound systems and made sure British materials and themes were used throughout the building.

Christopher Bailey talks to the media upon arriving at the Beijing Television Centre. 

The flagship store carries the complete Burberry range, including Burberry Prorsum, Burberry London, Burberry Brit, Burberry Sport, Burberry Accessories, as well as eyewear, fragrance and watches.

In the Philippines, Burberry is exclusively available through Stores Specialists Inc. and with shops located at Greenbelt 4, Rustan’s Makati, and Shangri-La Plaza Mall.