Burberry designer's digital world

Christopher Bailey, chief creative officer of Burberry. Photos provided to China Daily

Visionary Christopher Bailey spins his web to put the luxury fashion house ahead of the contemporary curve, writes Mark Graham.

It is difficult to think of any fashion brand, or designer, that has embraced the digital era with more enthusiasm than Burberry and its design head Christopher Bailey, helping to radically change consumer browsing and buying patterns.

Bailey has made the Internet a massive part of the way the British brand promotes and displays its wares, live-streaming wherever possible its major shows, including those in China, so audiences around the world can tune in. Its approach has proved popular in tech-savvy China, where there are now 71 stores, with Bailey becoming a regular visitor to the country, scheduled to fly in again this year, this time in his new role as the company's CEO.

Until Bailey joined the company a decade ago, the changes had been incremental rather than radical. The visionary designer began a massive shake-up, initially with the designs, which were updated for a more 21st century sensibility, and, later, with the way it presented and marketed its products, using digital platforms - and music - to put it ahead of the contemporary curve.

In fact the brand's flagship store, in the heart of London, is barely recognizable as a conventional clothes store: An outside wall is given over to the projection of music and catwalk images, while inside the thumping music, dazzling decor and array of screens make few obvious concessions to tradition.

The total of 100 screens and 500 speakers dotted around the elegant Regent Street building give it the feel of a contemporary nightclub but beneath the ultra-modern veneer there is significant acknowledgement of Burberry's rich history. The companies that installed the lighting and flooring at the 200-year-old building are the same experts who carry out much of the work at Britain's historical palaces and stately homes.