This past weekend Burberry, a British fashion house, wiped all of its social media accounts clean in anticipation of a new launch under CEO Daniel Lee.
Consumers were only given a sneak peek into the new direction of the company, as Lee’s own designs for the house won’t be revealed until later this month at the brand’s London Fashion Week runway event.
I would have to say that the most surprising part of this launch was Lee’s choice to introduce a refreshed brand logo. Inspired by the logo from 1901, the new logo depicts Burberry’s infamous Equestrian Knight Design, which was formerly used by the brand until they updated it in 1999. According to an article in Vogue, “the return of the equestrian knight pays tribute to the brand’s archive.” The logo also features the Latin word “prorsum” meaning “forwards.” Could this symbolize a new creative era for the brand? Or maybe a vintage revamp of items that Burberry was formerly known for. There’s great speculation about what this could mean for Lee’s vision and the brand.
Although Lee was named CEO back in September, it takes time and multiple feedback sessions to ensure his changes are going to be well received by the public. Since the last major logo redesign for the brand was in 2018, Lee and his team need to ensure that a logo revision is something that can not only be identified by Burberry’s everyday consumer, but also, by newer loyalists of the brand.
It’s no secret that logos make brands distinguishable within a market, and when one logo is digested by a group of people over a period of time, there’s always a chance that changing it will cause a disconnect between the company and its consumers. However, since Burberry aims to target 20-45-year-old men and women with mid-to-high income, it's my guess that most of its current consumers are well equipped to recognize the logo change.
Only time will tell if the new logo–and greater creative direction of Burberry–will coalesce with consumer expectations and values. Additionally, it will be interesting to see how younger generations react to the pivot away from a more modern looking logo and reverting to something more vintage.
