Art of the Trench

Read the campaign story

Burberry launched Art of the Trench on 9 November 2009. British Vogue’s contemporary report identifies Christopher Bailey’s creative leadership and initial photographs by Scott Schuman. The website presented people wearing trench coats, with ways to select favourites, comment and share portraits through existing social networks. Burberry’s company history also records the project as a 2009 community initiative.

The product was the connecting object, but the people supplied the variation. This study treats the website and its subsequent expressions as one campaign family. The reviewed sources establish its format and launch, not the number of genuinely active participants or an independently attributable commercial return. A polished image archive should not be mistaken for evidence that every customer had equal visibility.

Editorial interpretation: the campaign reverses the usual hierarchy of fashion communication. Instead of asking people to resemble one ideal model, it lets a consistent garment acquire meaning through different wearers. That gives heritage a contemporary use: continuity becomes a frame for variety. The approach depends on the object remaining recognisable while the settings and personal choices change enough to reward exploration.

Editorial interpretation: curation creates both value and responsibility. A coherent archive can make participation feel consequential, but selection also tells visitors who belongs. Teams should decide whether they are building a photographic exhibition, an open submission programme or a combination. Each requires different promises. Inviting public contribution without explaining selection, permission and removal policies can turn an appealing celebration into an opaque gatekeeping experience.

Choose a product with an observable social life

Look for an object that people adapt, carry or wear in different contexts without needing to alter its core identity. Interview customers about ordinary use before commissioning images. The strongest stories may concern practical routines rather than dramatic milestones. If every portrait needs a long explanation to connect back to the product, narrow the visual brief or choose a more distinctive object.

Make editorial selection understandable

Publish a short explanation of the collection’s purpose and the criteria used to choose contributions. Avoid implying that featured people represent all customers. Provide a straightforward way to withdraw future display and explain any limits on removing already distributed material. A beautiful archive is still a relationship with identifiable people, not an unlimited source of reusable advertising assets.

Design browsing around meaningful differences

Organise portraits by useful visual or contextual distinctions rather than prestige alone. Test whether visitors can discover a new way to use or style the product and still remember the brand. An archive that merely accumulates photographs becomes hard to navigate. A small, thoughtfully varied collection can be more instructive than an enormous feed with no clear editorial logic. Also check whether the chosen portraits reveal genuinely different relationships with the garment, rather than presenting cosmetic variety within one narrow lifestyle.

A small test for another brief

Proposed adaptation: create a permissioned gallery of six adult customers using one durable product in contrasting everyday settings, compared with six conventional product photographs.

Measure correct product recognition, the number of distinct uses visitors can recall and whether the gallery helps them evaluate suitability. Treat sharing as secondary evidence, not proof of purchase intent.

Stop if contributors feel misrepresented, selection excludes relevant users without explanation or the gallery requires broader image rights than participants knowingly granted.

• Agree image rights, compensation and withdrawal arrangements before photographing anyone.
• Use accessible captions and keep exact home addresses, workplace details and other unnecessary identifying information out.
• Give both versions the same product information and an optional route to learn more.