NEW YORK, December 18, 2007 – Christopher Bailey’s Burberry collections are almost always built around the brand’s signature outerwear, and pre-fall was no exception. This time, his concept was couture: Coats were ruched, beaded, piped with patent leather, and otherwise manipulated into very special objects indeed. Underneath, there was a loosened-up silhouette: still fitted at the top, but fuller at the bottom. A popular bell-shaped dress from Spring was reinterpreted in soft layers of black silk and mesh. In another riff, Bailey whipped up a spongy crackled copper coat that looked and felt not unlike last season’s neon neoprene.

– Nicole Phelps