The company has maintained its manufacturing facilities in England for generations. Image credit: Burberry
British fashion label Burberry is spotlighting its commitment to local manufacturing.
Through a new content series, titled “Made in the U.K.,” the maison spotlights its slate of trench and car coats made in Castleford, West Yorkshire, a town with less than 50,000 inhabitants. In imagery, as well as in specialized clothing selections, the company champions its storied connections to English artisanal craft.
"Yorkshire is the home and heart of our manufacturing in the U.K.,” said Lise Edwards-Warrener, VP of ready-to-wear operations and planning at Burberry, in a statement.
“It is not only where skilled craftspeople create some of our most iconic products, but also where generations of families continue to pass down critical artisanal skills,” Ms. Edwards-Warrener said. “Ensuring that we preserve those skills and champion British craftsmanship is incredibly important to us.
“We support this by recruiting locally and by offering technical skill development through our on-site training school in Castleford."
Past, present and future
“Made in the U.K.” spotlights the creation of the Chelsea, Kensington and Waterloo trench coats, as well as the Camden car coat, all of which are constructed in West Yorkshire.
In Castleford, Burberry has operated the same manufacturing facility for more than 50 years, developing multiple generations of master artisans that craft its selection of outerwear.
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The fashion label also maintains a fabric mill in the town of Keighley, West Yorkshire, less than an hour West of Castleford. At the complex, Burberry creates its proprietary cotton gabardine material, which has been used to make the brand’s iconic check pattern (see story) for the interior lining of all of its trench and car coats for the past century.
Burberry’s local outerwear manufacturing is also environmentally friendly, as gabardine is woven from fully organic cotton and the jackets’ buttons are forged from 90 percent renewable, plant-based resin. Both the Castleford and Keighley facilities exclusively utilize renewable electricity.
These sustainably sourced materials help bolster the company’s “Trench for Tomorrow” initiative, which seeks to use low-impact, long-lasting fabrics across the Heritage Collection – Burberry’s selection of trench and car coats – that can be reused through the ReBurberry service.
"We are proud of our British manufacturing heritage and at the same time, are challenging ourselves to adapt and play our part to protect the planet,” said Caroline Laurie, VP of corporate responsibility at Burberry, in a statement.
“Our ‘Trench for Tomorrow’ initiative embodies this spirit of responsible craftsmanship and innovation by ensuring our iconic trench coat uses certified and responsibly sourced materials and can be enjoyed for years to come through our ReBurberry Services."
English artisanal touch
Burberry is far from the only luxury name spotlighting the master touch of high-end craftspeople.
Sustainable, multi-generational local labor is at the core of the brand’s latest marketing push. Image credit: Burberry
English craft and culture were also at the core of British menswear label Dunhill and British fashion house Alexander McQueen’s respective fall/winter 2024 campaigns.
The former embraced the country’s classical, upscale slow-luxury aesthetic in warm imagery that harkens back to the 1970s (see story), while the latter showcased the streets of East London for the debut of creative director Seán McGirr (see story).