The Chequered History of Burberry’s Most Famous Print

By Laura Hawkins

The world is mourning the end of Succession, and with it the acerbic one-liners of Waystar Royco's new CEO, Tom Wambsgans. For fashion fans, the finest put-down of the show came from its most successful social climber in the opening episode of the final series, when Wambsgans described Greg's date Bridget's Nova pane Burberry tote as a "ludicrously capacious bag". In a sea of stealth wealth wardrobes – logo-free suede Métier weekenders, Brunello Cucinelli suits and Kendall Roy's countless cashmere Loro Piana caps – the print and proportions of Bridget's bag represented, to Tom, crass nouveau-riche taste, in stark contrast to, say, a plain Tom Ford T-shirt, or his own sleek Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph.

Queen Elizabeth II arrives in Norfolk for her Christmas break in 2018, sporting a Burberry check silk foulard scarf.

The Eastenders star riled the elite with her affinity for the Burberry check.

The Burberry check – a tartan design first used as a fabric lining in the brand's raincoats in the 1920s – has long served as a visual barometer of changing tastes. The print first came to prominence in the ’60s, after an experimental Parisian sales clerk turned their store's trench coats inside out as a visual merchandising technique to welcome Sir Patrick Reilly, who was Britain's ambassador to France at the time. In the late ’90s it straddled worlds, key to the uniforms of both the Balmoral and the Cool Britannia sets, pearl-wearing Sloane rangers and the "chavs" derided by The Daily Telegraph. The red strikethrough of the beige, white and grey Burberry check was worn by the Queen and tabloid favourite Danniella Westbrook alike.

In 2002, when Westbrook was papped with her daughter in matching Burberry check kilts, while wheeling a pram in the same Nova pane print, it marked a shift towards it becoming so associated with the so-called "chav" aesthetic (this was in the era of the WAG, whose taste for designer labels saw flashy logos come to be rejected in some corners as reflective of money, but not taste), that many more conservative customers temporarily turned their backs on the heritage design. Burberry, overseen by creative director Christopher Bailey at the time, even began to limit production of its most distinctive print.

Mariah Carey struts down Park Avenue in 2003 in matching Burberry.

Carey rekindles her love affair with Burberry check in May 2023, while out and about in Hollywood.

"It's monstrous. It's gargantuan," Wambsgans exclaimed, mid anti-tote tirade. But his snooty commentary only boosted interest in Burberry, which saw a 310 per cent spike in searches for its handbags after the Succession episode aired. Canny staff even placed the £2,500 bag in the windows of its Central London flagship. Seemingly, Mariah Carey was inspired too. The pop star, who was spied in a matching Burberry miniskirt and scarf back in 2003, was seen out and about in Hollywood this week in a skin-tight checked Burberry bodysuit and a classic trench.

By Vogue

For his autumn/winter 2000 show, industry disruptor Miguel Adrover drew attention to the relationship between capitalist excess and logomania, and the concept of literally wearing our wealth on our sleeve. His collection included a Burberry trench reversed and worn inside out on the runway, an evolution of the reinterpretation of the motifs of mega-brands – from Coca-Cola to Louis Vuitton – that he showed the previous season.

Burberry, meanwhile, continues to rework and reimagine its most emblematic motif. During his tenure from 2018 to 2022, Riccardo Tisci imbued the print with a new dash of rebellious cool, care of a collaboration with Vivienne Westwood. Tisci's longtime model muse Irina Shayk has been spotted multiple times in Burberry check, and, in a full circle style moment, so too has her young daughter. Billie Eilish, Bella Hadid and Beyoncé were also fans of Tisci's take.

Newly installed creative director Daniel Lee's assessment of contemporary British values also incorporates Burberry's heritage tartan. Lee's spring/summer 2023 swimwear offering features sexy Burberry check bikinis, snuggly robes and XL beach bags.

Miguel Adrover's autumn/winter 2000 show subverted distinctive motifs – including the Burberry check.

Burberry's Daniel Lee-designed summer swimwear collection features bikinis in the brand's signature check print.

Below, revisit the Burberry check's multifarious style moments.

Britpop rebel Liam Gallagher and his then girlfriend, All Saints star Nicole Appleton, adored the Burberry check. Here he arrives at Heathrow airport with a stack of the brand's Nova pane suitcases. Gallagher's son Lennon is now a face of Burberry.

Beckham in her Out of Your Mind era in Los Angeles, sporting a Burberry check bandana and backpack.

Harry carried his stuff in Burberry check suitcases when he played in a polo match in Gloucestershire in 2001.

In 2014, Romeo Beckham was unveiled as the face of Burberry's Christmas campaign, wearing a mini trench and tuxedo with a Burberry heritage check scarf. Here he is with his mum and brother Cruz a year later, at a Burberry film premiere in London.

By Emma Spedding

By Emma Spedding

By Alex Kessler

Rihanna gives the Burberry check a sporty touch for a SZA concert at The Box in 2017.

Beyoncé was the first star to wear Riccardo Tisci's creations for Burberry, performing on stage as part of her On the Run II tour in a custom bodysuit and cape.

Queen Camilla, then the Duchess of Cornwall, wears a check fabric lined Burberry trench to the 100th Royal Welsh Show, in Builth Wells, Wales.

Modelling Burberry checks to perfection on the streets of Manhattan in 2019.

By Joy Montgomery

By Ellie Pithers

By Vogue