Burberry brings slice of British life to Paris

British fashion house Burberry is giving Parisians a glimpse at life in the United Kingdom through a photo exhibition.

Following its run in London ahead of Burberry’s September 2017 show, and a subsequent November showing in Hong Kong, “Here We Are” is traveling to Paris. While tied to a runway collection that debuted last fall, Burberry's exhibit also speaks to its heritage and provides more context for its creations.

Next stop Paris
Burberry’s president and chief creative officer Christopher Bailey curated the exhibit alongside Lucy Kumara Moore, writer and director of fashion photography bookstore Claire de Rouen (see story).

Here We Are features the work of more than 30 social and documentary photographers of the 20th century. This candid portraiture serves as the inspiration for Burberry’s September collection, which is also on display within the exhibit.

Burberry's "Here We Are" exhibit in Paris. Image courtesy of Burberry

This marks the first showing of a number of works in France, including photography by Shirley Baker, Ken Russell, Colin Jones and Daniel Meadows. Alasdair McLellan, one of the co-curators of the Paris exhibit, will also be showing photos taken in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Russian photographer and designer Gosha Rubchinskiy, who collaborated with Burberry on a collection, will also be showcasing a series of images taken exclusively for the brand. These will be shown alongside the Gosha x Burberry capsule (see story).

Here We Are will open to the public on Jan. 26, and will run through Feb. 4.

As the fashion industry was in Paris for couture fashion week and men’s fashion week, Burberry hosted a private viewing of the exhibit. Among guests were Mr. Rubchinskiy, model Iris Law, fashion editor Veronika Heilbrunner and model Anna Cleveland.