Burberry - Fashion Company Profile
Burberry is a British luxury fashion house founded by Thomas Burberry in 1856, famous above all for the trench coat it developed for military use and for the Burberry check that became one of the world's most recognised - and most copied - patterns. Listed in London, holder of Royal Warrants, and selling clothing, fragrance and accessories through its own stores and concessions worldwide, it is Britain's flagship luxury brand.
Company Snapshot
- Status
- Operating - British luxury fashion house
- Type
- Public - LSE: BRBY
- Headquarters
- London, England, United Kingdom
- Founded
- 1856, in Basingstoke, England, by Thomas Burberry
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Company Profile
The company's identity still turns on outerwear: gabardine, the fabric Thomas Burberry invented, and the trench remain the centre of the range around which fashion collections rotate. The check's history is told in the profile section below.
Burberry was founded in 1856 when 21-year-old Thomas Burberry, 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 introduced the gabardine, a hardwearing, water-resistant yet breathable fabric, in which the yarn is waterproofed before weaving. Gabardine is the technical foundation under the trench coat's fame: a fabric invention first, a fashion icon second - the same construction-first pattern this letter's Balenciaga profile shows in a couture house, arrived at from a draper's shop rather than a Paris salon.
Burberry History
The earlier record for this company - its history, past brand line-ups, figures and photographs from the periods described - is kept on a separate page for historical reference.
Burberry History & Historical Profile →Common Questions
When was Burberry founded, and by whom?
In 1856, when 21-year-old Thomas Burberry, a former draper's apprentice, opened his own store in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, in the historical record.
What is gabardine, and when was it introduced?
Introduced in 1880: a hardwearing, water-resistant yet breathable fabric in which the yarn is waterproofed before weaving - the technical basis of the iconic trench coat invented by Thomas Burberry.
Why do older products say 'Burberrys'?
Customers around the world began calling the company Burberrys of London, so the company switched to that name for a period; it is still visible on many older Burberry products, in the historical record.
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