The fashion world’s infatuation with Hollywood continues.
For its holiday campaign, Burberry tapped Oscar-winning British filmmaker Asif Kapadia (Amy) to help bring The Tale of Thomas Burberry — the story of the brand’s founder and creator of the iconic trench coat — to life. Starring Domhnall Gleeson as Burberry himself, the three-minute film trailer depicts his (fictional) first love (Sara, played by Sienna Miller), as well as his invention of the waterproof fabric gabardine for Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton (played by Dominic West).
Also making a cameo is Burberry brand ambassador Lily James, who rocks a vibrant red lip for her portrayal of Betty Dawson, a fictional character inspired by real-life pilot Betty Kirby-Green, who broke a world record during a flight from England to Cape Town in 1937 while flying a plane called “The Burberry.”
“We feel very proud to be sharing The Tale of Thomas Burberry this Christmas,” said CEO Christopher Bailey in a release. “His spirit and his vision are still at the heart of everything we do at Burberry today.” To ensure authenticity, the film was shot at Shirburn Castle in Oxfordshire, England; props were pulled from the Burberry archives to re-create the legendary designer’s studio.
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Added Kapadia, “The aim was to make a trailer for a film that we haven’t actually made. So to bring together all these epic moments of life, death, birth, love and relationships, and to go through time and to have various characters that would appear and reappear — it was about finding these epic movie moments that would then make the trailer.”
Burberry has taken an interest in cinema in the past, casting Sophie Turner in a short film that was created in partnership with GQ U.K. for the Mr. Burberry fragrance.
