Burberry Bags

The Early Years

Burberry was founded in 1856 when 21-year-old Thomas Burberry (1835 - 1926), a former draper's apprentice, opened his own store in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. By 1870 the business had established itself by focusing on the development of outdoors attire. In 1880 Burberry invented gabardine, a hardwearing, water-resistant yet breathable fabric, in which the yarn is waterproofed before weaving. Gabardine was patented in 1888. Burberry was the original name, but then soon switched to Burberrys, after many customers from around the world began calling it Burberrys of London. This name is still visible on many older Burberry products.

In 1891 Burberry opened a shop in the Haymarket, London, which still exists and is the site of Burberry's corporate headquarters. In 1904, the Burberry Equestrian Knight Logo was developed containing the Latin word "Prorsum", meaning forwards, and registered as a trademark. In 1911 they became the outfitters for Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole, and Ernest Shackleton, who lead a 1914 expedition to cross Antarctica.

In 1914 Burberry was commissioned by the War Office to adapt its officer's coat to suit the conditions of contemporary warfare, resulting in the "trench coat". After the war, the trench coat became popular with civilians. The iconic Burberry check was created in the 1920s and used as a lining in its trench coats. It has been popularized by Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca[citation needed] and Peter Sellers in the Pink Panther films.

Burberry also specially designed aviation garments. A. E. Clouston and Mrs Betsy Kirby Green made the fastest flying time to Cape Town from London in 1937 and were sponsored by Burberry.

The Burberry Check

The black, white, and red pattern known as haymarket check or the "Burberry classic check" was first used as a lining for the Burberry trenchcoat in 1924. It was not until 1967 that the Burberry Check, now a registered trademark, was widely used on its own for items including umbrellas, scarves, and luggage. The Novacheck was introduced for the younger market, later altered by making it more "exploded" (bigger) and slanted in a diamond or "mitre" pattern. Christopher Bailey debuted of the "Housecheck", a more exploded version of the Novacheck, during the runway show of S/S 06.

Corporate History

Burberry was an independent company until 1955, when it was bought by Great Universal Stores (GUS), owners of UK High Street retailers Argos and Homebase. Beginning in 2000, there were rumours of GUS releasing Burberry as an independent company. [5] But it was not until December 2005, when Burberry was spun-off as the Burberry Group. Today, Burberry trades on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BRBY.

In the United States, the company has boutiques in Americana Manhasset, Aspen, Atlanta, Atlantic City, Austin, Beverly Hills, Boca Raton, Boston, Canoga Park, CA, Charlotte, Chicago, Coral Gables, FL, Dallas, Denver, Hackensack, NJ, Houston, Kansas City, King of Prussia, Las Vegas, McLean, VA, Naples, FL, Natick, MA, New York City, Washington, DC, Northbrook, IL, Oak Brook, IL, Orlando, Palm Beach, Philadelphia, Scottsdale, Short Hills, Sunrise, Fl at Sawgrass Mills, Minneapolis at Mall of America , South Coast Plaza, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Troy, Michigan, and White Plains, NY

To complement the Burberry USA Shop Online, the UK in October 2006 launched their transactional store, and in March 2007, extended order fulfilment across selected European countries at Burberry UK & Europe Shop Online. In November 2007, fulfilment was again extended to the whole of the EU. Both sites offer the latest new arrivals and classic pieces across rainwear, outerwear, apparel, handbags, shoes & accessories including sunglasses, watches & fragrance.

Rose Marie Bravo, who led Burberry to mass market success from 1997 till 2006, has now become vice executive, while her former job has been given to former DKNY and Liz Claiborne manager Angela Ahrendts.

Source: Wikipedia

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Visit the Burberry for more information!

Shot in Kensington Gardens, one of the Royal Parks of London by Mario Testino.

The images capture British actor Sam Riley and British model Rosie Huntington Whiteley.

The mood of the Autumn/ Winter 2008/09 collection and shoot was inspired by the attitude, silhouette, colour, texture, nostalgia and poetry of the evocative paintings by British Northern artist L S Lowry.

View video footage from the advertising campaign shoot on Burberry.com with an acoustic version of "Just for Tonight" by British band One Night Only.