burberry resort 2011

(images via style)

the burberry 2011 resort show, not so dissimilar from the military-inspired collection lately seen for the fall (as, after all was such a delicious treat we're not ready to let its flavor go), boasted a model who often strongly resembled lily donaldson in both attitude & appearance in one of her incarnations of 'good girl feat. tough side', as though she believes we find it infinitely sexier to know that she's really not quite comfortable, and of course, if you go home from the club with her after this, you'll find boxes of tea and perhaps a project she's been knitting rather than a wall harness you might tie her to.


the designer, christopher bailey, found his inspiration in the company archives as well as english uniforms of the thirties and forties, toughening that with some animal skins/prints and the needed erotic appeal of some of his latest collections, ever targeting that elusive young woman long shy of the starchiness of burberry (as emma watson, in all her rumpled youthful glamour, exemplifies for the latest campaign).


and of course it looked good, with nary a piece one could point to and definitively dismiss. particularly enticing to me were those little buckled bootie-heels above, although burberry excels in accessory-making, turning all of them stunning, and each season transforming many an underpaid shopgirl's paycheck into a single purchase. the dress at the top of this review was also a standout, managing to be both smoldering and modest by today's sexiness standards.


that said, to be frank, i was looking for a little more from the collection. to be sure, i'm not certain i don't envy (at least a little) the girl who drops a whole month's rent on one bag here, but at the same time, i don't feel it was variegated enough from the fall. looking at this range, it even looked fall, rather than the lighter, brighter clothes we generally expect from resort lines.

the show simply had a somber quality, a heaviness that seemed too much for the season it was addressing, and although style's review alleged that it was for warmer weather than it appeared, i'm just not sure you can seduce me into clomping around in thigh-high boots and some intense trench when i'm ready to bust out the flip flops and tank tops. and that's it.


of course, this is burberry, where people who like it, love it, and are willing to loudly inform you of that label whenever you compliment a piece they may be wearing. there's a reason we see so many knockoffs of the nova-check, even when it's not particularly good-looking. in other words, there are masses with the money to buy it. but from this high on the food chain, one is looking for a little reinvention, and hovering around what works for you gets a somewhat dulled with time.