LONDON – Daniel Lee’s outerwear-heavy fall collection was packed with sturdy footwear in a palette of neutrals. Those boots and loafers were meant for walking – in good and bad weather – and they were worn with casual and formal looks.
Boots came with buckle- and biker-style details and had military flair. Some were lined in shearling while other wellington styles were wrinkled and roomy and made for ease of movement.
At the show, Lee introduced a thigh-high stretchy boot with a built-in wedge heel (and even accessorized it with a little gold anklet). He also debuted a loafer style that had a high heel, a curved sole – and lots of swagger.
Backstage before the show, Lee said he wanted all of the pieces in the collection to perform, “to feel durable and functional, and to feel like they go hand in hand with a trench coat.”
He didn’t want anything too precious, and described his fall collection as fit “for rolling around outside. They’re clothes you can live in.”
Asked specifically about the footwear and accessories, Lee said that functionality was top of mind when he was picking materials and designing.
“Everybody associates Burberry with the outdoors, so that’s really the thing we have front and center when we’re picking materials. We want things that feel durable, functional. There is a lot of beauty in function, and I think functional design is so inspiring,” said Lee.
His show on Monday night unfurled under a giant circus-like tent in east London with guests including Callum Turner, Bright, Olivia Colman and Joanna Lumley. The floor was covered in rubbery green shreds meant to resemble mown grass, with guests sinking their bottoms into big brown fuzzy cushions.
The collection is far bigger than what he showed on the runway. For pre-fall 2024 there were edgier footwear looks, namely stiletto mules that sprouted faux fur, but even those were meant to keep bare feet warm during a chilly night on the red carpet, or under the stars.
