Burberry today announces that Riccardo Tisci will be stepping down as Chief Creative Officer and leaving the Company at the end of this month.

Riccardo has decided to leave after almost five years, during which he spearheaded Burberry’s creative transformation. Under his creative leadership, the Company re-energised its brand image, introducing a new visual identity and reviving the Thomas Burberry Monogram. Burberry also modernised and elevated its product offer, attracting a younger, more diverse and fashion-forward community of customers, and aligned the customer experience to its luxury positioning. Riccardo’s Spring Summer 2023 collection, presented this week in London, was his last for Burberry.

Jonathan Akeroyd, CEO, commented: “Riccardo has played a pivotal role in repositioning Burberry. He has enhanced our creative language, modernised and elevated our product offer and brought a new generation of luxury customers to our brand. On behalf of everyone at Burberry, I would like to thank him for his creative leadership and wish him the very best for the future.”

Riccardo Tisci said: “Burberry is a very special place with a magical past and a very promising future. The chapter I was asked to write in its long story is one that I am incredibly proud of and one I have decided would culminate with my show on Monday. I thrived to continue a legacy of innovation, and consistently championed for creativity and diversity, in order to always keep Burberry moving forward. I want to thank my teams, past and present, and the army of collaborators and friends who helped me write a chapter that I hope will stay in Burberry’s future for years to come.”

Gerry Murphy, Chair, commented: “The Board and I are grateful to Riccardo for his inspiration for Burberry’s transformation. We will build on this creative platform during the next phase of Burberry’s evolution under Jonathan’s leadership.” 

This announcement contains information that qualified or may have qualified as inside information and is disclosed in accordance with the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (“MAR”). For the purposes of MAR, this announcement is made by Gemma Parsons, Company Secretary.

Burberry today announces that Daniel Lee has been appointed Chief Creative Officer.

Daniel will join Burberry on Monday 3 October 2022. He will be based at Burberry’s headquarters in London and report to Chief Executive Officer, Jonathan Akeroyd.

Born and raised in Bradford, England, Daniel is an award-winning designer and one of the most exciting British creative talents of his generation. From 2018 to 2021, Daniel served as Creative Director at Bottega Veneta, where he helped reinvigorate the Italian luxury brand. He was previously Director of ready-to-wear design at Celine, which he joined in 2012, and he has also worked at Maison Margiela, Balenciaga and Donna Karan.

In his new role, Daniel will oversee all Burberry collections. He will present his debut runway collection at London Fashion Week in February 2023.

Jonathan Akeroyd, CEO, commented: “I am delighted that Daniel is joining Burberry as our new Chief Creative Officer. Daniel is an exceptional talent with a unique understanding of today’s luxury consumer and a strong record of commercial success, and his appointment reinforces the ambitions we have for Burberry. I am excited about working closely with him and I am confident he will have the impact we are aiming for in this next phase, supported by our talented and experienced teams.”

Daniel Lee said: “I am honoured to join Burberry as Chief Creative Officer. Together with the team, we will write the exciting next chapter for this legendary British luxury brand, continuing its historic heritage and building on Riccardo’s legacy. I am very excited to be returning to London, a city that champions pioneering creativity and that continues to inspire me.”

MEDIA Q&A

Why is Riccardo leaving?

Riccardo has decided to leave Burberry after almost five years, during which he spearheaded the creative transformation of the brand.

When is he leaving?

Riccardo will leave Burberry at the end of this month. His Spring Summer 2023 collection, presented this week in London, was his last for Burberry.

How long have you known about this?

The changes have just been confirmed.

Does Riccardo’s departure and Daniel’s appointment have any impact on guidance?

There is no change to guidance.

Should we anticipate further management changes? How many changes have you had in the past year and how stable is the leadership team?

We have a strong management team led by Jonathan and Daniel’s appointment reinforces the ambitions we have for Burberry.

How would you define Riccardo’s time at Burberry? Was he a success?

Riccardo has played a pivotal role in repositioning Burberry. Under his creative leadership, the Company re-energised its brand image, introducing a new visual identity and reviving the Thomas Burberry Monogram. Burberry also modernised and elevated its product offer, attracting a younger, more diverse and fashion-forward community of customers, and aligned the customer experience to its luxury positioning.

What does the change in Chief Creative Officer signal?

Daniel’s appointment reinforces our ambitions for Burberry. Being a true luxury brand remains the right strategic positioning for Burberry. We have a unique opportunity as the British luxury heritage brand and Daniel is excited about leading our creative teams to achieve our goals.

Does Daniel’s appointment mean Burberry will pivot more to its Britishness?

Daniel recognises the Britishness that is at the heart of the Burberry brand and he fully intends to nurture and develop it. His appointment is an important and exciting next step in our growth and acceleration journey.

Why have you chosen Daniel as Creative Director?

Daniel is an exceptional talent with a unique understanding of today’s luxury consumer and a strong record of commercial success, and his appointment reinforces the ambitions we have for Burberry. We are confident he will have the impact we are aiming for in this next phase, supported by our talented and experienced teams.

Was Daniel your first choice? Did you look at anyone else?

Daniel is an award-winning designer and one of the most exciting British creative talents of his generation. He has a unique understanding of today’s luxury consumer and a strong record of commercial success, and his appointment reinforces the ambitions we have for Burberry. We are confident he will have the impact we are aiming for in this next phase, supported by our talented and experienced teams.

When does Daniel start this new role?

Daniel starts on Monday 3 October 2022.

What is Daniel known for? What are his main achievements?

Daniel is an award-winning designer and one of the most exciting British creative talents of his generation. He has a unique understanding of today’s luxury consumer and a strong record of commercial success, and his appointment reinforces the ambitions we have for Burberry. From 2018 to 2021, Daniel served as Creative Director at Bottega Veneta, where he helped reinvigorate the Italian luxury brand. 

He modernised BV’s offer and made it relevant for a new generation of consumers; He established new category best sellers such as the Cassette and Pouch handbags and Puddle and Lido footwear; During his three-year tenure, revenue grew 1.4X (adding EUR400M); He won four awards at the 2019 British Fashion Awards (Brand, Designer, Accessories Designer and Womenswear Designer)

What will Daniel bring to Burberry? Why is he a good fit?

Daniel is an exceptional talent with a unique understanding of today’s luxury consumer and a strong record of commercial success, and his appointment reinforces the ambitions we have for Burberry. We are confident he will have the impact we are aiming for in this next phase, supported by our talented and experienced teams.

What is the scope of Daniel’s role? Will he have the same responsibilities as Riccardo?

Daniel will lead the design studio and he will collaborate closely with Jonathan and the leadership team on other areas of our business.

When will we see Daniel’s first collection? When will we see Daniel’s products in stores?

Daniel will present his debut runway collection at London Fashion Week in February 2023. This will be in stores in August. Of course, Daniel has a creative vision for Burberry and we expect his influence to be felt almost immediately.

It took 2 years to transition from CB to RT. Does the appointment of a new CCO mean there will be another year or longer of transition?

It’s not really comparable. Riccardo was brought in to reposition the brand, which included introducing new house codes such as TB logo and elevating the product across the entire collection. This was a significant amount of work that has been substantially completed. Around 50% of sales are now from replenishment that is high quality – this compared with the 85% plus changed by RT. Daniel has a creative vision for Burberry and we expect his influence to be felt almost immediately.

How big is your design team?

There are around 100 employees who make up the design studio.

Will Daniel bring in new people? Will there be redundancies?

There won’t be any significant changes. We have an experienced and talented team and Daniel is looking forward to meeting and working with them.

There are a number of rumours surrounding Daniel’s departure from BV, including that he was difficult to work with. How concerned should we be about this?

We don’t comment on speculation. We have been impressed by Daniel’s vision, his values and his commitment to creating a positive, collaborative and productive environment. We are confident Daniel’s appointment will reinforce our ambitions for Burberry in this next phase.

Given his reputation, are you worried about losing talent?

We have an experienced and talented team and Daniel is looking forward to meeting and working with them. Daniel shares our values and we are confident Daniel’s creative vision will reinforce our ambitions for Burberry in this next phase.

This announcement contains information that qualified or may have qualified as inside information and is disclosed in accordance with the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (“MAR”). For the purposes of MAR, this announcement is made by Gemma Parsons, Company Secretary.