Burberry Will Be Hosting a Fashion Show in September

It'll be outdoors — and there will be no audience.

So far, most updates on the Spring 2021 collections have been about who isn't showing in September, or who's breaking with the traditional fashion calendar. But one major player on the international circuit confirmed it's moving forward with a runway presentation, albeit in a revised format.

Burberry announced on Monday that it will be hosting a Spring 2021 show in September, in London. It'll be outdoors — officially, to celebrate the "purity and simplicity of the outdoors," chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci told WWD, but also likely to follow social distancing guidelines, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. There will also be no audience: The only people in attendance will be the models and members of the Burberry team.

The "live physical presentation," as the British fashion house characterized it in a press release, is meant to be experienced digitally, and will thus be open to everybody. It's scheduled for the 17th, the eve of London Fashion Week.

"As humans, we have always had a deep affinity to nature. We have had to respect and rely upon its power for our very existence, whilst marveling and reveling in its extraordinary beauty," Tisci said in a statement. "Especially recently, we have all yearned to reconnect again and for this show, I wanted to celebrate these feelings by bringing our community together in a creative experience that takes place within the beautiful, natural landscape of Britain."

The Italian designer has a history of opening the doors to his fashion shows to a wider audience. When he was creative director of Givenchy, he hosted the brand's Spring 2016 presentation in New York during fashion week and opened a lottery for free tickets to fans and students.

In light of this Spring 2021 development, Tisci reflected to WWD about the future of fashion shows, saying: "I do not believe that fashion weeks are to be stopped, they just need to be reimagined for the world we live in now. There is nothing like the experience of being at a fashion show — the energy in the room, the anticipation, excitement — it is something beautiful that I would not want to see lost. But we must recognize that the world is changing, and we must adapt and redefine our landscape through new forms of expression. Ultimately, to me, it will always be important to keep a physicality to fashion, to be able to see and understand the texture and movements of clothes, but in new ways."

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