Burberry History: Thomas Burberry founded Burberry in 1856 when he opened a clothing shop in Basingstoke, England. In 1880, Thomas Burberry developed a fabric that was resistant to tearing and weatherproof whilst remaining breathable, which he called “gabardine”.
In 1901, Thomas Burberry designed and submitted to the War Office an army officer’s raincoat which made use of the gabardine fabric. The style was approved by HM King Edward VII a year later as a standard service uniform for British officers. Due to the popularity of Burberry weatherproof outerwear amongst army personnel, Thomas Burberry later submitted another pattern for an army officer’s raincoat to the War Office. During the First World War this raincoat was adapted to include functional epaulettes, straps and D-rings. It was named “the trench coat”. In the early 1920s, the Burberry check was introduced as a lining to the trench coat. The Burberry trench coat began to obtain iconic status when it was worn by post-war Hollywood film stars.

During this time our products also played a role in exploration, adventure and pioneering. Norwegian explorer Captain Roald Amundsen selected Burberry apparel for his expedition in 1911 when he became the first man to reach the South Pole. Captain R.F. Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton wore Burberry gabardine on their Antarctic expeditions. Aviators and balloonists also used Burberry outerwear because of its light weight and resistance to wind and water. In 1919, Captain Sir John William Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten Brown, wore Burberry apparel on the first-ever flight across the Atlantic Ocean. George Mallory also selected Burberry apparel when he attempted his ascent of Mount Everest in 1924.

In 1891, Burberry’s retail business expanded to London when a shop opened in the Haymarket selling outerwear to sportsmen. In 1912, the Burberry store in the Haymarket moved to its present location at 18/22 Haymarket which today serves as the corporate showroom.

In the early 1900s Burberry began expanding internationally. Thomas Burberry began selling his signature fabric through wholesale outlets in New York, Buenos Aires and Montevideo. In 1910, the first French store was opened on the Boulevard Malesherbes, the site of the current store, in Paris. Around 1920, we began to sell our products in Japan. We entered into an agreement in 1964 with Mitsui for the distribution of our outerwear products in Japan. This was followed by a licensing arrangement with Mitsui and Sanyo in 1980. They remain our primary licensees in Japan today.

In 1955, Burberry was acquired by GUS. The 1970s and 1980s were characterised by a period of retail expansion, particularly in the United States, and increased licensing of the Burberry brand.