The Burberry Trench: How a British Classic Became a Global Fashion Icon
The V&A celebrates 170 years of Burberry by tracing the trench coat from functional military outerwear to one of fashion’s most recognizable silhouettes.
Some pieces of clothing follow trends. Others outlive them.
For Burberry, few creations represent that distinction better than the trench coat. What began as practical outerwear designed to withstand unforgiving weather eventually became one of the most recognizable pieces in global fashion—a garment that has moved through military history, British culture, luxury fashion and generations of reinvention.
Now, that story is heading to one of the world’s most celebrated museums of art and design.
Beginning September 21, 2026, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London will present The Burberry Trench: Crafting an Icon, a free display at V&A South Kensington created around the history, craftsmanship and evolution of the Burberry trench coat. The exhibition runs through January 3, 2027, and coincides with Burberry’s 170th anniversary.
From British Weather to Fashion History
The Burberry story began long before the trench coat became a luxury staple.
Thomas Burberry established his company in Basingstoke, England, in 1856 when he was just 21 years old. His early business centered on clothing capable of protecting people from Britain’s notoriously unpredictable weather.
That pursuit eventually led to a breakthrough.
In 1879, Burberry developed gabardine, a tightly woven fabric designed to provide protection from rain while remaining breathable and considerably more comfortable than many of the heavy waterproof materials available at the time.
It would become foundational to Burberry’s identity.
In the early twentieth century, Burberry developed outerwear that incorporated practical features such as epaulettes, D-rings, storm protection and structured tailoring.
Those details weren’t originally decorative branding.
They had jobs to do.
And yet, more than a century later, many of those functional details remain part of the visual language that immediately identifies a classic trench.
When Function Becomes an Icon
That’s what makes the trench coat’s evolution particularly interesting.
Fashion frequently borrows from history. The Burberry trench demonstrates what happens when an object designed primarily around function develops such a recognizable identity that the function itself becomes part of the aesthetic.
The belt, collar, epaulettes, storm flap and structured silhouette survived long after the circumstances that originally influenced them.
Today, the trench remains a cornerstone of the Burberry house and a cultural shorthand for British style.
But longevity doesn’t come from simply repeating the past.
The trench has continually been reinterpreted through different materials, proportions, colors and creative eras while retaining enough of its original DNA to remain recognizable.
That balance—heritage without becoming trapped by heritage—may be one of Burberry’s greatest achievements.
Inside The Burberry Trench: Crafting an Icon
The V&A display approaches the trench through three central ideas: Invention, Craft and Creativity.
The first section explores Thomas Burberry’s development of cotton gabardine in 1879 and the role the material played in establishing the trench as protective outerwear that combined practicality with style.
The exhibition then turns toward craftsmanship, examining recognizable construction details including the hand-finished collar, House Check lining, storm flap and detachable throat latch.
Finally comes reinvention.
The display brings together runway looks from different periods of Burberry’s modern history, demonstrating how generations of designers have continued to reinterpret the trench while preserving the characteristics that made it recognizable.
Together, those pieces tell a larger story.
The trench isn’t one coat frozen in history.
It’s an idea that designers continue to reinterpret.
170 Years—and Still Evolving
Burberry’s anniversary arrives at an interesting moment for luxury fashion.
Brands with deep archives possess something newer companies simply cannot manufacture overnight: history.
But history by itself isn’t enough.
The challenge is making that history matter to a new generation.
Burberry’s trench offers a particularly powerful example because its identity wasn’t created through a single modern marketing campaign. Its recognizable characteristics emerged through decades of utility, craftsmanship, cultural adoption and creative reinterpretation.
That’s also what makes displaying the trench inside the V&A significant.
The museum isn’t simply presenting a luxury product. It is examining an object through the lenses of design, craftsmanship and cultural history.
More Than a Coat
There is an interesting lesson behind the trench coat’s longevity.
The strongest icons don’t necessarily begin with the intention of becoming icons.
Sometimes they begin by solving a problem exceptionally well.
Thomas Burberry wanted clothing capable of protecting people from the weather. Gabardine answered that problem. Practical requirements influenced another set of design solutions. Over generations, designers transformed those solutions into recognizable elements of style.
Eventually, utility became identity.
Identity became heritage.
And heritage became something new designers could reinterpret rather than simply preserve.
Nearly 170 years after Thomas Burberry opened his first shop, the trench remains recognizable precisely because it has been allowed to evolve.
The Burberry Trench: Crafting an Icon ultimately celebrates more than one famous piece of outerwear. It examines how design can move from necessity to culture—and how an object created for one era can continue finding relevance in another.
For Burberry, the trench isn’t simply part of the archive.
It’s still part of the conversation.
Exhibition Information
The Burberry Trench: Crafting an Icon
Location: V&A South Kensington, London
Dates: September 21, 2026 – January 3, 2027
Gallery: Prince Consort Gallery
Admission: Free
References
[1] The V&A Has Announced An Exhibition All About… – https://www.timeout.com/london/news/the-v-a-has-announced-an-exhibition-all-about-burberrys-legendary-trench-coat-072826
[2] The Burberry Trench: Crafting an Icon – London – https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/the-burberry-trench-crafting-an-icon?srsltid=AfmBOopBnUt_FzGBOPjTX17EzSviDSQEspVH393c6sb0GzWwAmLUADPN
[3] Burberry Trench Coat Exhibition Opens at V&A This Fall – https://www.designscene.net/2026/07/burberry-trench-crafting-an-icon.html
[4] Burberry – Trench coat – British – https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/102882
[5] Burberry’s iconic trench coats are getting their own exhibition – https://vogueadria.com/burberry-trench-coats-victoria-and-albert-exhibition/
[7] The V&A Marks Burberry 170-Year Heritage with New Trench… – WWD – https://wwd.com/fashion-news/designer-luxury/the-burberry-trench-crafting-an-icon-va-free-display-1239083165/
[8] Burberry Celebrates the Iconic Trench Coat with V&A Exhibition – https://galeriemagazine.com/burberry-celebrates-the-iconic-trench-coat-with-va-exhibition/
[9] Jane TYNAN – Art & Culture History and Antiquity – https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jane-Tynan
[10] Re-Thinking Luxury in the Museum Fashion Exhibition – https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340795586_Re-Thinking_Luxury_in_the_Museum_Fashion_Exhibition
[11] (PDF) Emotionally engaging customers in the digital age – https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304784125_Emotionally_engaging_customers_in_the_digital_age_the_case_study_of_Burberry_love
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does the Burberry trench appear in any museum besides the V&A?
Yes, the garment is represented in other major global institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which holds a mid-century example in its permanent collection. This widespread institutional presence confirms the coat’s status as a significant artifact of design history.
2. What was Burberry’s “Art of the Trench” campaign, and how does it relate to this exhibition?
The campaign was a digital initiative that invited the public to share photos wearing their own coats, focusing on user-generated content. The museum exhibition serves as a contrast by presenting curated, historical artifacts in a physical space, shifting the focus from social media engagement to academic validation.
3. Which historical figures wore the Burberry trench?
The coat has been worn by polar explorers, military officers, and prominent actors in classic cinema. These diverse wearers helped transition the garment from a functional piece of weather gear into a symbol of classic style.
4. Why is the Hardy Amies trench a highlight of the show?
The inclusion of a coat worn by a prominent Savile Row designer highlights the intersection of ready-to-wear manufacturing and bespoke tailoring. It demonstrates how the garment’s design was respected by industry professionals who understood construction and fabric.
5. What made Thomas Burberry’s gabardine fabric different from earlier waterproof materials?
Unlike earlier materials that relied on heavy rubber coatings to repel water, gabardine was breathable. The fabric was proofed in the yarn before weaving, creating a lightweight, weather-resistant textile that allowed for greater mobility.
6. Why does the article compare the trench to other heritage items?
Both rely on documented history and functional origins to justify their modern prestige. By showing that the design was originally engineered for demanding conditions, the brand can maintain its value based on historical performance rather than temporary trends.
This article is intended for editorial and informational purposes only.
