The iconic status of the Burberry trench has been incontrovertibly established in a retrospective exhibition at the V&A marking the house’s 170th anniversary. The Burberry Trench: Crafting an Icon, running until Sunday 3 January 2027, brings rarely seen pieces from the Burberry Archive together with the museum’s own collection and traces the coat from practical outerwear and military kit to a British staple celebrated everywhere.
The exhibition unfolds in three parts, beginning with Thomas Burberry’s invention of cotton gabardine of 1879; in Craft, the coat is deconstructed To highlight details that constitute the icon, from the storm flap to the throat latch and the House Check lining; and Creativity, 19 runway looks from the past 25 years. It closes on Sunday 3 January.
Highlights run from the delightfully intimate, a 1979 car coat with Hardy Amies’s own name on the label, shown in public for the first time, to the frankly outlandish, a pink metallic silk trench from spring/summer 2013 and a purple baroque-print trench with fringing from winter 2025, to the delightfully absurd: a knitted mallard hat from autumn/winter 2023-2024, orange feet dangling and all.
Our pick of Burberry’s classic styles is the Waterloo, longer than the Kensington for a more streamlined line, in honey gabardine, made in Yorkshire. Here’s how it holds up during one October day in SW1: three changes of clothes, one trench.
OFF-DUTY: Denim, with better manners
A trench and jeans is hardly revolutionary; the interest is in what you put between them. Valentino’s camel cardigan, scattered with gold sparkles, gives the TOTEME denim enough pizzazz to escape basic-weekend territory, while Loro Piana trainers keep the whole thing genuinely walkable. Add the burnt toffee Zimmermann bag and pink-lensed Fendi sunglasses, and the result is relaxed, but with enough colour, texture and shine to stop the trench-and-denim formula feeling predictable.
Burberry trench coat, £1,895; Valentino cardigan, £3,600; TOTEME jeans, £420; Loro Piana trainers, £855; Zimmermann bag, £675; Fendi sunglasses, £430
ELEVATED CASUAL: Soft, but still pulled together
The trick here is to let the Burberry trench do the straightening-up. Valentino’s pale pink organza blouse brings the romance, but Louis Vuitton’s softly tailored balloon trousers keep it from becoming too pretty. Add Ferragamo’s low slingbacks and a sage-green Dior Saddle bag for colour that doesn’t shout, then let a pair of classic hoops-with-a-twist act as a small, sharp punctuation mark. It’s polished without ever veering into prissy.
Burberry trench coat, £1,895; Valentino blouse, £3,900; Louis Vuitton trousers, £1,060; Ferragamo slingbacks, £775; Dior bag, £3,500; Ferragamo earrings, £375
DATE NIGHT: The coat stays sensible
The classicism of the Burberry trench is exactly the counterpoint an undeniably flirtatious red mini needs. Valentino supplies the colour, Saint Laurent’s gold sandals turn up the temperature, and the pink Valentino shoulder bag makes the whole thing slightly less expected than the usual black evening accessories. Keep the jewellery bold and gold – Gucci horsebits at the ears, a chunky bangle at the wrist. The coat provides the composure; everything underneath can misbehave.
Burberry trench coat, £1,895; Valentino dress, £1,840; Saint Laurent sandals, £1,020; Valentino bag, £1,590; Bottega Veneta bracelet, £3,370; Gucci earrings, £610
The Burberry Trench: Crafting an Icon is free at the V&A until January. The coat is on Sloane Street now.
