Inside Riccardo Tisci's First Burberry Show at London Fashion Week, a Bold Statement Was Made

he road to Riccardo Tisci’s debut collection at Burberry was a winding one. And not metaphorically, as far as we know (Tisci has flown relatively under the radar since being named chief creative officer at the British house in March). No, the literal road leading to Monday’s big debut at the South London Mail Centre was winding, complete with highly choreographed traffic patterns and plenty of security. It sounds like a logistical nightmare in theory, but the slowdown at the finish line only helped build anticipation for what was to come.

To say that Tisci’s Monday night show was the most buzzed-about and anticipated moment during London Fashion Week would be an understatement. Yes, there was a certain Spice Girl celebrating her 10-year anniversary, but the real talking point from squished front row seats to the week's various cocktail parties was Tisci. What would one of fashion’s biggest wild cards with a punk tendency bring to a classic British heritage brand best known for trench coats and classic tartan? And, for the Internet’s sake, who would he bring?

Upon walking into the venue, there was no apparent front row, usually identifiable by a shroud of camera flashes around it. Not unlike the road outside, the setup was quite maze-like in its configuration: A raised catwalk snaked around the center of an open room, with rows of plush white chairs and benches set out around it. Of course, Tisci’s celebrity Rolodex knows no bounds; this is, after all, the man who dressed Kim Kardashian for her first Met Gala when she was seven months pregnant. Dozens of A-listers would be there at the snap of his fingers. Surely, no?The nearly pitch-black lighting situation certainly did not help. Was that woman sitting next to Anna Wintour Margot Robbie? Carey Mulligan? Any other Academy Award–nominated woman with a blonde bob? Nope, just a non–Academy Award nominated woman with a blonde bob. Was that rambunctious child bouncing in a seat North West? Was the man hovering near her Kanye West? Nope, just a child and a man wearing sunglasses indoors. Whispers began to fly—were there any celebrities here? “I heard Justin Bieber was here,” a seatmate offered. I double checked on the blonde bob next to Wintour. Nope, not him.