Christopher Bailey, president and chief director of Burberry, will be handing off the reigns of the brand by 2018. The decision was announced today on a statement by Burberry.
Bailey was arguably the reason Burberry went from a collection of check-lined trench coats to a global luxury brand. The British designer began his tenure at Burberry 17 years ago, taking over as creative director in 2004 then being named chief creative director in 2009 but has been with the brand since 2001.
British culture was the man inspiration that helped Bailey reinvent Burberry and its style of clothes. This could be seen by how he filled the front rows and ad campaigns with British people, from models to actors and even singers. Bailey was also always on top when it came to change up the house’s iconic trench coats and its military outerwear.
Bailey has helped make the brand’s signature Nova Check pattern as ubiquitous as Louis Vuitton’s “LV” and Coach’s intertwined “Cs”. His role at Burberry has propelled the brand into a digitally savvy brand while other brands are still trying to catch up.
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In the statement released on Burberry’s website (http://Burberryplc.com) they stated as follows, “As Burberry begins the next decade of its journey, Christopher has concluded that after 17 years it will be the right time for him to pursue new creative projects. Christopher will remain President and Chief Creative Officer until 31 March 2018, when he will step down from the Board. He will provide his full support to Chief Executive Officer Marco Gobbetti and the team on the transition until 31 December 2018”.
Although as Bailey’s resignation may seem as a major hit to Burberry’s future, it might a step in the right direction. Burberry has been statistically late when it comes to fashion. They underperformed the FTSE 100 index a good portion of Bailey’s tenure as CEO. With that being the case, the timing is still terrible considering the past six months Bailey was showing a return to his regular form, with some stellar collaborations and a superb show at London’s Fashion Week in September.
The company is said to already be on the search for a successor and people have speculations to believe that it can be Phoebe Philo, who has worked with Gobetti in Celine. Also in the running is Gosha Rubchinskiy, who Burberry collaborated with earlier this year.
Chris Bailey said, “It has been the great privilege of my working life to be at Burberry, working alongside and learning from such an extraordinary group of people over the last 17 years. Burberry encapsulates so much of what is great about Britain. As an organization, it is creative, innovative and outward looking. It celebrates diversity and challenges received wisdom. It is over 160 years old, but it has a young spirit. It is part of the establishment, but it is always changing and always learning. It has been a truly inspiring place to work and the decision to leave was not an easy one. I do truly believe, however, that Burberry’s best days are still ahead of her and that the company will go from strength to strength with the strategy we have developed and the exceptional talent we have in place led by Marco. I would like to thank all my colleagues as well as Sir John Peace and the Board for all their support and faith in me over the years. I am excited to pursue new creative projects but remain fully committed to the future success of this magnificent brand and to ensuring a smooth transition”.
