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Burberry's Christopher Bailey to receive CBE for services to fashion

Designer left the fashion house last year

Monday 31 December 2018 10:55 GMT

Ex-Burberry designer Christopher Bailey is to receive a CBE for his services to fashion (Getty)

Christopher Bailey is to receive a CBE for his services to fashion in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list.

The 47-year-old worked for British fashion house Burberry for 17 years before stepping down from his role as president and creative officer in March 2018.

“Burberry encapsulates so much of what is great about Britain. As an organisation, it is creative, innovative and outward looking," Bailey previously said about the brand.

"It celebrates diversity and challenges received wisdoms. It is over 160 years old, but it has a young spirit”.

This will mark Bailey's second time receiving recognition from the palace, after he was awarded an MBE, or Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, back in 2009.

The former creative officer joined the company at the age of 29 after graduating with a Fashion BA (Hons) from the University of Westminster in 1993 and a Master's degree from the Royal College of Art in 1994.

Bailey went on to work as a womenswear designer at Donna Karan and senior womenswear designer at Gucci before settling as design director at Burberry in 2001.

Christopher Bailey's Greatest Hits For Burberry

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1/10Christopher Bailey's Greatest Hits For Burberry

Christopher Bailey's Greatest Hits For Burberry

Cheap Chic

There once was a time when Burberrry's Nova check print was more likely to conjure up images of Vicky Pollard than a Spice Girl. However, thanks to celebrities such as Victoria Beckham and Kate Beckingsale, who remain loyal supporters of Bailey, the label's signature check has seen a renaissance in a very non-ironic way. Never did the check seem more relevant than at Burberry's most recent spring/summer 2018 show, which saw a punk comeback of the vintage pattern that was splashed across baseball caps, military jackets and of course, trench coats.

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Christopher Bailey's Greatest Hits For Burberry

The Cropped Trench

In 2003, Bailey disrupted the brand's most iconic staple: the trench coat. As seen on Kate Moss as part of the designer's spring/summer 2004 collection, Bailey completely re-imagined the traditional trench, making it shorter, fresher and bolder in this unmistakably modern variation.

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Christopher Bailey's Greatest Hits For Burberry

Androgynous Agyness

2007 saw an injection of youth revolt into Burberry, thanks to Bailey's decision to cast model-of-the-moment Agyness Deyn - in a number of the brand's campaigns and runway shows. Not only did Deyn's steely cheekbones and peroxide pixie cut spearhead a sartorial shift towards androgyny that remains prominent today, she kick started an exciting and unexpected transition away from Burberry's romantic and girlish aesthetic.

Rex Features

Christopher Bailey's Greatest Hits For Burberry

Child-friendly Fashion

As nobly demonstrated on Madonna's then six-year-old daughter Lourdes, Bailey made Burberry a brand for all ages. Their children's range continues to be one of the label's most successful b-sides.

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Christopher Bailey's Greatest Hits For Burberry

Hearts Galore

Bailey brought the romance back in his autumn/winter 2013 collection, which was peppered with white love hearts, whose sophistication was firmly cemented by form-fitting pencil skirts and deep burgundy hues. The collection was aptly-named Trench Kisses.

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Christopher Bailey's Greatest Hits For Burberry

Animal Print

Safari met style in that same collection, which saw Bailey take a walk on the wild side. He reinvigorated Burberry's feminine silhouettes with garish leopard prints that boasted a rock'n'roll edge.

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Christopher Bailey's Greatest Hits For Burberry

Monogramming

What could be better than a cashmere poncho? A cashmere poncho with your regal-sounding initials stitched onto it, obviously. As seen on the bevvy of beauties walking in Burberry's autumn/winter 2015 collection, the plush blanket-turned-scarves saw a seismic shift in the way customers engaged with the brand, who started to see it as a wider lifestyle label.

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Christopher Bailey's Greatest Hits For Burberry

Music

Not just a leading light in the fashion industry, Burberry also saw the introduction of "Burberry Acoustic" under Bailey's reign. Providing a platform for up and coming singer/songwriters, the British label regularly held live acoustic sessions and filmed videos with bands for YouTube that featured the likes of Jake Bugg, Keane and Lucy Rose.

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Christopher Bailey's Greatest Hits For Burberry

Millennial Pink

Millennial pink might've only recently entered the sartorial zeitgeist, but Bailey was ahead of the curve when he put the rose-meets-salmon shade in his spring/summer 2014 collection, as modeled here by Cara Delevingne.

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Christopher Bailey's Greatest Hits For Burberry

The Modern Trench Coat

A heritage trench coat is one of Burberry's most recognizable and sought-after pieces. The tan gabardine might have been the perennial staple that started it all, but under Bailey's leadership a number of seasonal varieties were born, such as this wool skirted variation as seen on The Duchess of Cambridge.

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He then moved up to chief creative officer and CEO in 2014 where he revived the heritage label from aesthetic and financial purgatory.

Since joining the luxury brand, campaigns under Bailey’s management were fronted by the likes of Cara Delevingne, Sienna Miller and Eddie Redmayne, while legions of celebrity fans from Joan Collins and Madonna to Kate Moss and Harry Styles, stayed faithful to the label throughout the designer's tenure.

After Bailey’s departure, Riccardo Tisci took the helm at Burberry after exiting Givenchy in February 2017, where he had been creative director since 2005.

Other famous faces to be recognised in this year's list include '60s model Twiggy, England football manager Gareth Southgate and author of The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood.

The full list of this year's honourees can be found on the Gov.UK website.

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