The Burberry trench is getting its own V&A exhibition

Few garments have survived this long without becoming a costume. The trench has managed it, and the V&A is finally giving it the retrospective treatment. Marking 170 years of the house is a free exhibition inside the museum’s Prince Consort Gallery, a space that used to store textile swatches in mahogany cabinets and now gets to hold court over the coat that outlasted every trend built to replace it.

The show starts with the fabric of cotton gabardine, which Thomas Burberry invented in 1879. Then it gets into the construction of the hand-finished collar, the House Check lining, the storm flap, the detachable throat latch and  the other details that came to exist because someone needed to survive a downpour long before anyone needed to look good doing it. The final act hands the coat over to the runway, with 19 standout looks spanning the last 25 years including work from former creative directors Christopher Bailey and Daniel Lee.

The coup is the Burberry trench once worn by British designer Hardy Amies, shown alongside early 20th century catalogues is finally coming out of the archives. This is the first time it will be on public view.

The V&A and Burberry are working towards a permanent Burberry Gallery, opening in 2028, so consider this the trailer before the main event.