Techy vogue

The man behind the rise of Burberry as one of the world's top brands talks to Gan Tian about how he introduced high-tech ideas to complement the company's tradition of heritage.

Christopher Bailey, dressed in a smart casual suit, tries to explain an interesting theory. He stands up and touches the wall behind him. Suddenly, the wall lights up and turns into a giant LED screen. He clicks on it and pushes the content boxes around the screen, zooming in and out. It looks like a scene from Mission Impossible but is part of a presentation for the British luxury house Burberry's newly opened Asian flagship boutique in Hong Kong.

Bailey, the label's 40-year-old chief creative officer, is a tech-savvy hipster and says the store is "full of modern technology".

The boutique in Pacific Place, Hong Kong, is now the largest Burberry store in the Asia-Pacific region. The boutique's exterior facade is made from crystals. Inside, there are giant interactive Orion screens for clients to use.

"I want the store to feel like a jewelry box. Within the store, there is a lot of hidden technology: Screens and things that make the brand come alive, whether it's music or a live-stream show," Bailey comments.

When Bailey was informed that Burberry was going to open the flagship store in Hong Kong, he was working on two other big projects at the same time. One was in Regent Street in London, and the other in Chicago.

"I want each one to have different personalities, because they are in different cities, but they should also be united by technology, collections and experiences."

Modern technology is, perhaps, the biggest change that Bailey has introduced to Burberry, the luxury label founded in 1856.

Burberry's annual revenue dropped dramatically due to the world economic recession in 2000. A year later, Bailey was hired.

The then 30-year-old Brit already had a golden resume, having attended the Royal College of Art, in London. Upon graduation, he was hired by Donna Karan, becoming a womenswear designer there. In 1996, he moved to Milan, working at Gucci, under Tom Ford.

After arriving at Burberry in 2001, Bailey introduced fresh elements to make it one of the world's top luxury brands.

He not only designed new garments, but also set up new clothing lines, took care of interior design, and found A-list celebrities for the label's ad campaigns. His job, as he saw it, was to "make everything relevant and consistent".

He believes an old label has to evolve and rejuvenate to keep pace with the times.

The opening party in Hong Kong was live-streamed onto custom-built exterior screens, while interior video walls throughout the store showcased real-time footage from the event, including Instagram imagery.

It was also broadcast live on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Sina Weibo.

"I feel brands today need to be more than products, whether that's environment, music, or the journey that you take. It's everything you see, you feel and you touch."

At Burberry's headquarters in London, Bailey has a "creative media" team that specializes in images, packaging, Web design, music and windows.

Even so, Bailey realizes tradition must have its say.

"Burberry has a heritage, and everything is built on that heritage, but it should be integrated into a modern way of living."

On the company's website, customers can create their own trench coats, choose the colors and style, and customize, all online. When they press "send" it goes to a factory in England and the item is made by craftsmen.

"I love this contradiction, this crazy fact that it is at first fast and dynamic, and then it becomes this very historic, slow process. Heritage and new tech, for me, it is never about one thing or another. It's about bringing it together."

"I sometimes describe Burberry as an old, young company. It's 156 years old, but it's a very young team. When you have a young team, technology is so integrated in your everyday life."

Because of Bailey, when fashionistas talk about Burberry, they are not talking about just the iconic Burberry checks and trench coats, but also its technologically fashionable ideas.

Contact the writer at gantian@chinadaily.com.cn.

Christopher Bailey, Burberry's chief creative officer, has introduced modern technology to highlight the century-old brand. Models present the spring/summer 2013 collection Burberry Prorsum, designed by Bailey. Photos provided to China Daily