Banality in the brutalist National Theatre

It's been a tough few months for the house of Burberry, Britain's only global superstar luxury brand, and judging by the collection it showed on Monday, the turbulence is not expected to end anytime soon.

Following several brutal sessions at the London Stock Exchange, Burberry invited its guests to the foyer of the National Theatre, ironically a monument to neo-brutalist architecture with its sombre shapes and exposed concrete walls. Just two weeks ago, after its stock market capitalisation plummeted, Burberry was removed from the prestigious Footsie 100 list of the biggest companies, after 15 years of presence.

That bad news came a month after Burberry announced the firing of its chief executive, Jonathan Akeroyd, after just two years on the job. His dismissal followed another disappointing quarter in which sales fell 20%. His successor, Joshua Shulman, is a seasoned luxury executive, having held CEO roles at Michael Kors, Coach and Jimmy Choo. Shulman will need all that experience and more to right the ship at Burberry, even as the company injects a significant amount of new blood into its ranks. They include Jonathan Kiman, an American-born former Gucci and Versace executive who has been named chief marketing officer, and Laura Dubin-Wander as president of Burberry US.

But in the world of luxury, any executive is only as good as the talent he manages and the product he sells. And, frankly, this was an extremely modest collection, unlikely to prompt a stampede to the boutiques of this 168-year-old retailer.

No one doubts the innate talent of Burberry’s British-born creative director, Daniel Lee, but the complete absence of a wow factor at this show left everyone speechless. Lee knows how to design a very sharp suit (Gareth Bale looked great in a languid, street-style striped jacket sitting in the front row), but his experiments with the parka and trench coat (the heart of Burberry) seemed forced, even artificial.

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Long parkas with too many belts, buckles and eyelets. Worn and baggy trenches, shoulders overloaded with feathers. Mini capes that end well above the torso and are shorter at the back.

For the boys, checked overalls and cargo pants with strange zippers down the front of the legs, often paired with wrinkled leather jackets.

For the evening, Lee finally put her talents to good use with fantastic cocktail dresses with polished sequins and topped with satin ruffles or party dresses with metallic details that had plenty of style. But they failed to save a show that never gained momentum, as the cast continued to wander behind gray cement walls.

Lee is an avid theatre-goer. Even in his previous job, when he was working in Milan designing Bottega Veneta, he would return to London several times a month to attend multiple plays and shows. Which explains why he was so excited to exhibit inside the National Theatre, though perhaps not in its foyer.

Even the addition of legendary British artist Gary Hume, who installed a series of large matte green wall cutouts, seemed a bit redundant. However, his current exhibition at Grafton Street’s 7A gallery (for which Burberry hosted a cocktail party on Sunday night) is pretty sensational.

At least Lee showed off some cool bags: heavy saddle bags in raw suede, revamped fisherman bags in dark brown, or messenger-style versions to sling over the shoulder. All of them topped with wide straps in various cool new shapes of plaid and tartan.

Although this could not save a collection and a show that, for some strange reason, ended without a proper ending, leaving the guests rather confused. Few, if any, applauded.

In a word, don't expect people to stop shorting Burberry stock anytime soon.