It is 10 p.m. on a clement spring night and a scene is playing out in front of an unremarkable building. There is a throng of people waiting outside, eager to enter the Narnia that beckons beyond the impeccably dressed gatekeepers they are negotiating with. Every so often, the unmarked door opens to let in the successful chosen few, offering a teeny glimmer of light to those left behind. In some ways it is reminiscent of the activity outside a hot London club on a typical Friday night. Except, of course, it isn’t. This is Venice, and it is the opening week of the 60th Biennale—the so-called Olympics of the art world—which opened to the public in April and will run until November.
That night’s event—as far away from your run-of-the-mill club night as you can get—is a glamorous cocktail party at the iconic Harry’s Bar, whose Bellinis and carpaccio are as famous as the arty clientele that has frequented the teeny, unpretentious venue (everyone from Marcel Proust to Peggy Guggenheim). The host? Burberry, the headline sponsor of the British Pavilion, which this year unveiled a new exhibition, “Listening All Night to the Rain,” by the artist and filmmaker John Akomfrah. And so, the crowd is a chic cacophony of the world’s coolest gallerists, curators, artists, muses, and friends of Daniel Lee, Burberry’s chief creative officer. On a night of Burberry events that began with a live recording at the St. Regis bar of the hit podcast Talk Art, hosted by actor Russell Tovey and gallerist Robert Diament, it was a bonafide thumbs-up to Burberry’s long-standing commitment to arts and culture, both at home and abroad.
Of course, the love affair between fashion and art is nothing new. As far back as the 1930s, Elsa Schiaparelli found synergy with Salvador Dalí, and in 1965, Yves Saint Laurent took inspiration for his Mondrian dress from the artist’s abstract canvases. Today, the fashion/art dalliance is ubiquitous: a luxury fashion brand that has not dipped a toe into the art world is a rarity. But in the words of Octavia Butler, there’s nothing new under the sun, but there are new suns. Burberry’s point of difference—its “new sun,” as it were—is an impressive commitment to arts and culture, specifically through supporting British cultural institutions, or working closely with British artists such as Akomfrah. It is a dedication that long precedes the current trend of fashion houses reinventing themselves as a 21st-century “culture” brand.
As far back as the ’60s, Burberry shot a campaign in London’s newly opened Hayward Gallery. Still, it is only through key moments within the last 25 years that Burberry’s deepening relationship with the art world has demonstrated real staying power. In 2006, as a way to mark its 150th birthday, Burberry sponsored “David Hockney Portraits,” the revered painter’s seminal exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. In 2010, over 100 artists featured in the Burberry Acoustics initiative, celebrating and supporting both established and emerging British artists. Throughout designer Christopher Bailey’s tenure at the house (from 2001 to 2018), his love for the Bloomsbury Group—a collective of early 20th-century English writers, intellectuals, and artists such as Vanessa Bell, Virginia Woolf, and Duncan Grant—was frequently referenced in his collections. (In fact, Burberry’s fall 2014 collection was called the Bloomsbury Girls, and the luxury brand partnered with the Charleston Trust in an effort to protect the cultural and creative heritage of Charleston, the home and studio of Bell and Grant.)
More recently, Burberry has partnered with some of the UK’s most illustrious galleries and museums. In 2022, it joined forces with London’s Saatchi Gallery for “The New Black Vanguard,” an exhibition showcasing the work of a slew of exciting Black photographers such as Campbell Addy and Nadine Ijewere, both of whom attended the buzzy opening party with Gagosian’s Antwaun Sargent, the uber-cool curator of the show and author of the accompanying book. And of course, they were all dressed head-to-toe in Burberry. “Happy Gas,” Sarah Lucas’s 2023 exhibition at Tate Britain, was also supported by Burberry. It was a landmark moment showcasing over four decades’ worth of work—many unseen—from Lucas, who rose to fame as part of the late ’80s YBA (Young British Artist) movement that also included Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.
Burberry’s relationships with British artists have taken the house beyond Britain. It has long collaborated with Frieze (one of the world’s most influential art fairs), which has grown beyond London to encompass Frieze New York (which opened today), Seoul, and Los Angeles. But arguably, it is Burberry’s role as the key partner of the last two Venice Biennale British Pavilions—prior to Akomfrah the representing artist was Sonia Boyce, who in 2022 won the prestigious Golden Lion—that has sealed its spot as the luxury brand most authentically committed to British art. Which explains why, when it throws an intimate party for friends at Harry’s Bar (the likes of Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Katy Hessel, Sadie Coles, Alvaro Barrington, Alex Eagle, and Honey Dijon were all there to enjoy the ham and cheese grilled sandwiches and a DJ set from Benji B), the great and good of the art world beat a path to the door.
Another explanation for the crush outside the party could be people hoping for another opportunity to get their hands on one of Burberry’s limited-edition deep green and blue checked fabric totes. Created using excess material from the house, they were given out freely to VIP guests of the British Pavilion earlier in the day. The supply vanished more quickly than you can say “collector’s item,” and so, beyond the works of art on display, the tote quickly became one of the most coveted pieces at the Venice Biennale 2024 opening. Burberry’s position as champion of British art is well and truly in the bag.