Burberry has just released photos from their upcoming ad campaign that will go live on September 19 after the Burberry runway show during London Fashion Week. This collection will be its first immediately shoppable collection. Influenced by Virginia Woolf‘s literary masterpiece, Orlando, where the protagonist changes sex from man to woman and thus lives for over 300 years without any visible signs of ageing. As a result, the upcoming collection is a juxtaposition of both masculine and feminine styles across various historical periods. The campaign, shot by Mario Testino, stars Jean Campbell, Cavan McCarthy, and Aex Dragulele.

To kick-start the campaign, Burberry has also revealed a portrait of the pattern maker for its newest Bridle bag, shot by Testino. For the upcoming show, Burberry has also collaborated with The New Craftsmen, which will showcase Britain’s finest crafters who inspired the collection through a daily changing programme of activities and installations within the brand’s new show venue in London, named “Makers House” on 1 Manette Street in London’s Soho district. The venue will also be open to public after the show, from 21-27 September, where they get a chance to see original works by the selected craft makers who will be drawing on the collection as inspiration and space for experimentation and creation of their craft pieces.

According to Chief Creative and Chief Executive Officer Christopher Bailey,

This campaign reflects a collection inspired by Virginia Woolf’s Orlando and also sets out to honour the many skilled craftspeople who work on Burberry’s iconic products. I am therefore very proud to be sharing Mario Testino’s incredible portraits of Jean Campbell, Cavan McCarthy and Alex Dragulele, which we have set alongside portraits of our talented Burberry artisans.
In this spirit of honouring contemporary artisanal excellence, we are also proud to announce an exciting collaboration with The New Craftsmen as part of our September presentation during London Fashion Week. Just as Virginia Woolf’s Orlando is both a love-letter to the past and a work of profound modernity, this week-long exhibition aims to nod both to the design heritage that is so integral to Burberry’s identity, and to some of Britain’s most exciting creators, and the innovation and inspiration behind their work.

Images courtesy of Burberry