The Return of the Social Season: Burberry Reimagines the Holiday Gathering
There was a time when December was about arrival: coats shrugged off at the door, a cheek-kiss
hello, the subtle theatre of social proximity. Burberry’s new festive campaign, starring Naomi
Campbell and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, brings that era back, but polished, edited, and filmed like
the final act of a film where every detail has been storyboarded. Titled “Twas the Knight Before…”,
the campaign unfolds not in the chaos of the holiday’s streets but inside a London townhouse where
glamour happens naturally, almost quietly, as if the guests always look like this.
Shot by filmmaker John Madden, the campaign is a love letter to winter dressing: coats as a warm
embrace, capes as fairytale costumes, and tailoring that speaks before anyone opens their mouth.
Naomi’s presence is the anchor, poised and unbothered as always. The English icon is returning to
the London house she helped define in the 90s. Rosie, in contrast, is the holiday’s warmth
embodied: the woman who floats down the staircase rather than arrives at the door. Together, they
illustrate Burberry’s thesis: holiday elegance is about restraint, not spectacle.
The wardrobe leans into Burberry signatures: the quilted cape that frames the body like a
Renaissance portrait, the sharply belted trench reconceived in satin-sheens, and knitwear that isn’t
cozy so much as controlled. Even the accessories feel intentional, scarves tied once rather than
wrapped, gloves a shade darker than expected. This is styling that alludes to Burberry’s vision
towards the future.
This collection is unmistakably curated. This is not Auntie’s living room. It is a fantasy of how we
want to experience December: refined, golden-hued, kissed by candlelight and good taste. The party
we all dream of attending
As social calendars return and the need to signal identity through clothing intensifies, Burberry
positions outerwear as the new symbol of status. The coat becomes the first impression, the thesis
statement, the soft declaration of who you are. For VOIR’s reader, the woman who curates her life
like a gallery display, this hits. She does not chase the party; she hosts the moment.
If previous festive campaigns from luxury houses chased maximalism, Burberry has done the
opposite: they’ve brought back intimacy, confidence, and the rare art of arriving elegantly. It is a
lesson in how to dress when the room is already watching. When it comes to Burberry, traditions
don’t need to be reinvented, only remembered.
Words by Fabiana Gutierrez
