TRICKER’S AND TREAT: Burberry and British shoemaker Tricker’s have partnered on a line of brogues, Chelsea boots and Derby shoes in shades ranging from black, vine, and aubergine to camel in calf leather and camel suede.
All of the shoes are made with a leather welt to allow the sole and upper to be stitched to the insole, allowing for future refurbishment and repair. Each shoe is finished with a rubber sole as they’re designed to be worn anywhere.
The two heritage British brands share an affinity for the outdoors and the collaboration builds on chief creative officer Daniel Lee’s vision for his debut fall 2023 show that subtly touched upon an explorer’s wardrobe by way of the hot water bottles; faux fur-collared trenchcoats, and blankets worn as layering pieces.
Burberry takes over Tricker’s windows on Jermyn Street.
Courtesy of Burberry
To celebrate the collection, Burberry will be taking over the window of Tricker’s on Jermyn Street.
Tricker’s was founded in 1892 and holds a royal warrant, just like Burberry. All shoes are produced from beginning to end at its factory in Northampton, which is a Grade II listed building where the 2005 film “Kinky Boots” was filmed starring Joel Edgerton and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Since Lee’s takeover, Burberry has doubled down on craftsmanship and Britishness, taking the brand back to its roots.
Burberry and Tricker’s join forces for footwear.
When chief executive officer Jonathan Akeroyd laid out his strategy during a presentation last November, he said he wanted the brand to be “desirable and relatable,” with product sitting front and center, a renewed focus on “femininity” and an emphasis on underdeveloped categories such as footwear.
Akeroyd’s ambitions are to take Burberry’s revenue to 5 billion pounds in the long term, fueled by a much bigger accessories business.
The newly reopened Burberry flagship on New Bond Street is helping to shape that vision with the ground floor’s windows dedicated to accessories. — HIKMAT MOHAMMED
SEPHORA PROMOTES YEH: Sephora has named Deborah Yeh global chief marketing officer, effective Nov. 13.
The executive has been the prestige beauty retailer’s global chief purpose officer since Jan. 1 and formerly served as executive vice president, global chief purpose officer and CMO of Sephora for North America.
“In this [new] role, Deborah will focus on reinforcing Sephora’s brand desirability and continuing to increase its global community of loyal members,” the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned retailer said in an internal memo obtained by WWD.
“She will also keep fostering collaborations across regions and encouraging best-practice sharing, while staying in charge of Sephora’s purpose and sustainability strategy,” it continued.
Deborah Yeh
Courtesy Photo
Yeh is to continue reporting to Guillaume Motte, president and chief executive officer of Sephora, and remain a member of Sephora’s global leadership team.
In her new position as global CMO, Yeh succeeds Steve Lesnard, who is leaving Sephora to pursue other opportunities on Nov. 2, the retailer said.
“Over her 11 years with Sephora, Deborah has had a remarkable impact on our business. Both in her global purpose role these past two years, and previously as chief marketing officer of Sephora North America, she has driven breakthrough initiatives for Sephora, she has driven breakthrough initiatives for Sephora, including the launch of Sephora’s award-winning ‘We Belong to Something Beautiful’ brand campaign, the revamp of our U.S. loyalty program and the cocreation of our flagship event ‘Sephoria,’” Motte said in the internal memo.
“She has also been strongly accelerating our commitment to sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion in North America and at a global level,” he continued. “I am sure she will be instrumental in continuing to further build excitement and engagement within our global beauty community.”
Yeh joined Sephora as CMO for the Americas, and prior to that spent four years at Gap and four years at Target.
In other company news, Sephora also said that Rehana Osmany, global general manager of Sephora Collection, will now report directly to Motte, as well as become a Sephora global leadership team member.
Osmay joined Sephora in July 2021. Before that, she was general manager of Parfums Christian Dior France and general manager central Europe for the brand.
Motte underlined that women now make up two-thirds of Sephora’s global leadership team. — JENNIFER WEIL
PUFFING UP: Dingyun Zhang, the buzzy Shanghai-based designer known for his puffer-centric collaborations with Moncler and Marni, on Friday released the first-ever product under his own name: a helmut-like puffer bag.
Touted to be an extension and commercial adaptation of Zhang’s graduate collection from Central Saint Martins, the silhouette draws inspiration from icons in Sanxingdui, a Bronze Age culture discovered in the outskirts of Chengdu, China.
“The ancient remains found in that period feature bronze heads, mythical creatures, eye-shaped objects, dragon-shaped objects, a hybrid tiger-dragon figure, as well as a jade rectangular stand with animal face and phoenix-bird motifs. Sanxingdui is an integral part of this development of early civilizations and demonstrates the remarkable achievements of the contemporaneous cultures in the upper Yangtze River region,” Zhang explained.
Helmut bag by Dingyun Zhang.
Courtesy of Dingyun Zhang
Designed with two inner zipped pockets, lined with nylon, and wearable as both a tote bag and backpack, the style’s inflated exterior gives a nod to the oversized style of characters on street corners and MTV stars of the 2000s, added Zhang.
The designer, who is now based in Shanghai, hasn’t released a collection since the Central Saint Martins graduation show in February 2020, despite working on several collaborations while amassing more than 200,000 followers on Instagram.
He told WWD that the brand is working toward a collection for Paris Fashion Week “that’ll consist of a slew of singular ideas in an all-encompassing sense.”
In the meantime, Zhang said he will continue to work on the inaugural collection with a series of products that “stem from ideas that blend functionality and innovation.”
Looking ahead, the designer said he wishes to create designs “driven by the concept of fluidity and pushing the boundaries to fashion with a new language.” — TIANWEI ZHANG
