After 16 years at Britain’s largest luxury fashion brand, Christopher Bailey is hanging up his Burberry trench. The company said Tuesday that Bailey, president and chief creative officer, would resign at the end of 2018.
“As Burberry begins the next decade of its journey, Christopher has concluded that after 17 years, it will be the right time for him to pursue new creative projects. Christopher will remain president and chief creative officer until 31 March 2018, when he will step down from the board. He will provide his full support to chief executive officer Marco Gobbetti and the team on the transition until 31 December 2018,” the brand said in a statement.
The company said that since joining in 2001, Bailey has been a driving force behind Burberry’s transformation. In that time, Burberry has grown from a small licensed outerwear business to become one of the world’s largest and most admired global luxury brands.
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Bailey said: “It has been the great privilege of my working life to be at Burberry, working alongside and learning from such an extraordinary group of people over the last 17 years. Burberry encapsulates so much of what is great about Britain. As an organization, it is creative, innovative and outward-looking.
“I do truly believe, however, that Burberry’s best days are still ahead of her and that the company will go from strength to strength with the strategy we have developed and the exceptional talent we have in place led by Marco. I am excited to pursue new creative projects but remain fully committed to the future success of this magnificent brand and to ensuring a smooth transition.”
