Burberry opened in Wisma Atria, effectively moving away from the luxury fashion hub that is neighbour ION Orchard

The bright blue half-cladding/fascia in that corner of Wisma Atria immediately caught our attention. Before that, a hoarding of similar blue had announced the impending opening of Burberry’s latest store, previously languishing inside ION Orchard. This could be a new space to showcase Daniel Lee’s new offerings. We walked leisurely into the store and was surprised to see that it was quiet, empty. Not a single customer was inside. A group of SAs had gathered in one area, seeming to be undergoing training or receiving instructions. One staffer suddenly hurried towards us, and we were somewhat startled, and amused, by her appearance. She was wearing a trenchcoat—indoors, with the heat outside beating unrelentingly on the building.

“Hello.” Oh, hello. We tried to contain ourselves, but we could not. Why are you wearing a trench coat inside? “Oh,” she said, beaming, “because we have an activation, and they want us to wear it.” She was clearly proud of the overcoat that was too long for her. Strange to have on outerwear indoors. Are you comfortable? Yes, very. It is very cold in here.” The delight in her voice was inescapable. We were tempted to ask her if that would be a permanent garment of her uniform, but we did not. It was fascinating that she was all retail-speak too. She must have assumed that “activation” (also known as retail or brand activation—primarily to create memorable and interactive experiences that urge shoppers to open up their wallets) would be impressive enough to arouse our interest.

We have not stepped into a Burberry store for a while. And the last at their other outlet, diagonally across the street at the Paragon, was a while ago, to see Mr Lee’s debut collection. We do not recall what that experience was like except that a talkative SA was trying to sell us a tote. The latest Burberry is somewhat less plush than what we remember their previous stores to be. The floors and the walls are conjoined twins of off-white, and the racks,—skinny, secured-to-the-wall units mostly—barely escaped being packed with clothes. It is a comfortable space if not exactly enticing. As we looked through the racks, the trenchcoat-clad SA stopped following us. She was very, very quiet now. She probably knew her attire impressed us not and we were not going to buy the coat that made Burberry famous.

What struck us in the store was the prevalence of Burberry’s trademark checks, in several colours, and applied on garments, bags, and footwear. The pervasiveness was more than a tad disconcerting. And it quickly reminded us of Burberry’s chav (equivalent to our Bengs) era in early 2000s London that become the undoing of the brand, until it was rescued from the lenggong (冷宫) of fashion (a state of disfavour) by Christopher Bailey. Now with Daniel Lee, the Burberry is reportedly bringing back its checks, in all its forms and colours, approved by the new CEO Joshua Schulman, formerly from Coach. Mr Schulman had said that he would not take Burberry “down market”. Yet, the merchandise did not look (or feel) to us especially high-end. Perhaps they did slip one rung below. And what better way to lessen the perceivable difference than with a trenchcoat thrown on?

Photo: Chin Boh Kay