Burberry joins luxury sector's race to refresh products monthly

Burberry said on Monday it would start releasing limited edition clothes and products every month, joining a growing number of rivals in the luxury sector trying to turn out collections more frequently to keep clients interested. It's part of the evolution of the brand under Riccardo Tisci.

High-end fashion labels are experimenting with ways to square the long production cycles often required to bring complex catwalk looks into stores, and the needs of clients increasingly used to finding what they want instantly online.

Burberry, which is hoping to revitalise its sales growth after hiring designer Tisci, said in a statement that from October new items would be available on the 17th of every month, "as part of its plans to excite customers".

The first release, which follows a similar one around Tisci's debut runway show last month, will feature unisex white T-shirts and sweatshirts with the brand's new monogram, available for 24 hours on a handful of social media channels like Instagram.

The method echoes the product drops popularised by US-based streetwear brand Supreme, which helped turn its hoodies into highly-coveted collector items, and which more than one luxury firm is now emulating as companies chase a younger generation of shoppers.

Italian outerwear maker Moncler announced last year it was abandoning seasons to focus on monthly launches in its own stores of coats designed in collaboration with a roster of key designers.

It still has a more permanent offering of jackets, but has said it wants to shift its entire production process to a monthly cycle.

Burberry will still produce regular summer and winter catwalk collections and other pre-collections.

The company, which is looking to reposition itself as an even more upmarket brand, said in September that a plan to create more targeted collections would help it limit waste, after it came under fire for incinerating tens of millions of pounds worth of stock last year.

It has previously been one of the big advocates of a "see-now, buy-now" approach, which cuts out the six-month delay in delivering a runway collection to stores, but requires taking a punt in terms of forecasting what will do well off the catwalk.

It has since tweaked the format, mixing instant availability with seasonal pieces.

Additional reporting by Sandra Halliday