The V&A Gives the Burberry Trench a Gallery of Its Own

The V&A has given a single coat a gallery. 'The Burberry Trench: Crafting an Icon' opened in the Prince Consort Gallery at V&A South Kensington on Monday 21 September 2026 and closes on Sunday 3 January 2027. It is free, with no booking required, keeps museum hours of 10.00 to 17.45 daily and until 22.00 on Fridays, and is staged as part of the house's 170th anniversary.

It comes in three sections. 'Invention' goes back to Thomas Burberry's cotton gabardine of 1879 and the coat's beginnings as practical outerwear and military attire. 'Craft' takes it apart — hand-finished collars, the check lining, storm flaps, detachable throat latches. 'Creativity' hangs 19 runway looks from the past 25 years; WWD reports that they come from Daniel Lee, Burberry's chief creative officer, and Christopher Bailey.

The object list is where it gets good: a womenswear catalogue featuring trench coats from around 1937–44; Hardy Amies's Burberry car coat from 1979, with its personalised label; a men's pink metallic silk trench from Spring/Summer 2013; a men's mirror-embroidered trench from Autumn/Winter 2015; a men's knitted duck hat from Winter 2023; and a women's purple baroque-print fringed trench from Winter 2025. PA's report added an original 1939 trench from the V&A's own collection; a 1929 gabardine ski suit worn by Margaret Campbell, later Duchess of Argyll, double-breasted, with a collar that can be worn up or down and a belt; a fringed runway trench worn by Naomi Campbell; and a floor-length strapless white dress from Autumn/Winter 2022 that reworks the trench's parts.

Connie Karol Burks, Curator of Textiles and Fashion at the V&A, gave PA the short version: 'The enduring popularity of the trench is down to a combination of its function and its fashion.'

Burberry brand curator Carly Eck: 'As we mark 170 years of the house, we are thrilled to partner with the V&A to celebrate the enduring legacy of the Burberry trench coat – a global design icon.'

The V&A's own description is the plainest one: a concise history of the Burberry trench from practical outerwear and military attire to a world-renowned icon of fashion. The display opened on the day Burberry closed London Fashion Week: Daniel Lee's summer 2027 show, the last on the schedule, went out that evening at Chelsea College of Arts, and Reuters reported sheer trench coats in pastel blue and aubergine among the floral skirt suits, with Jason Statham, Skepta, Kano and Sadiq Khan on seats printed with the check. It costs nothing to see, and its run on Cromwell Road, SW7 2RL, ends on Sunday 3 January 2027.

The first week had a caveat. Prospect and PCS members struck at V&A South Kensington on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 September, with pickets at the Cromwell Road entrance, and the museum ran a reduced visitor offer on those two days. The Museums Association reported on 6 October that the dispute over pay and conditions is still unresolved, with no further strike dates announced, and that the V&A has opened a voluntary exit scheme across all its sites.