BACK TO THE FUTURE: Burberry has formalized its partnership with Leeds Beckett University and its BA (Hons) Fashion Design course, part of the brand’s commitment to nurturing emerging talent and supporting the future of British design.
The partnership follows a pilot program launched in 2024, and furthers a growing relationship between Burberry and Leeds Beckett, creating opportunities for students to gain industry insight and develop the skills needed to thrive in the creative sector.
Their partnership is rooted in a shared connection to Yorkshire. Burberry has an office in Leeds and manufacturing sites in Keighley, where it weaves gabardine, and Castleford, where it makes heritage trenchcoats.
As part of LBU’s flagship tailoring project, second-year students undertook a live industry brief called Reinventing the Trench: A Study in Craft and Form.
They were challenged to redesign and construct the Burberry trenchcoat using surplus gabardine, the fabric invented by Thomas Burberry in 1879. The project followed Burberry’s Portraits of an Icon trench campaign, which broke in March, and marked the brand’s 170th anniversary.
