The Tale of Thomas Burberry is Burberry’s new campaign that kicks off the festive season for the brand. Written by Matt Charman and directed by Asif Kapadia, it comprises a three-minute cinematic trailer, which reimagines key events that have shaped the company’s history and values.
Real life moments re-enacted in the film include Thomas’s invention of the weatherproof fabric gabardine, dressing the military, and outfitting polar explorers and pilots. Shot primarily at Shirburn Castle in Oxfordshire, the location served as the backdrop for the faithfully recreated First World War trenches, and Thomas’s workshop inspired by materials in the Burberry Archive. Replica gabardine tents, made at Burberry’s Castleford factory in Yorkshire, were created for the exploration scenes.
The Characters
Thomas Burberry
Played by Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson, Thomas who was born in 1835, became an apprentice draper before establishing his eponymous company at the age of 21, initially specialising in outdoor attire. He invented the gabardine fabric, which is reflected in the film, being at the heart of the trench coat story. The coat evolved over the years to serve the needs of the military, and has become the famous design we recognise today.
Sara
Sara is Thomas’s fictional first love and mother to his children, and is played by British actress Sienna Miller.
Sir Ernest Shackleton
Burberry was the outfitter of choice for several polar explorers during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, including Sir Ernest Shackleton, who is played by British actor Dominic West. The film focuses on Shackleton’s ill-fated Endurance Expedition to the Antarctic in 1914, which he survived.
Betty Dawson
A female pilot who is played by British actress Lily James, this fictional character is inspired by the real life achievements of Betty Kirby-Green, who completed a record-breaking round trip from England to Cape Town in 1937 in ‘The Burberry’ aeroplane, dressed in Bur
