Burberry

Thomas Burberry (then a tailor’s apprentice) founded the brand in 1856. What began as a collection of sturdy outerwear sold out of a shop in Hampshire, evolved to include jackets in airy, water-resistant gabardine by 1880. Ten years later, Thomas Burberry & Sons debuted in London’s West End. In 1911, the house outfitted the first explorers to reach the South Pole, and by 1914, adapted its coats for WWI soldiers fighting in the trenches (hence the trench coat). Its trademark check pattern lined its trench coats by 1920, and rose to national ubiquity by 1955, when Queen Elizabeth II awarded the house a Royal Warrant (its first of two). In 1961, the house dressed Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's, introducing its branch of accessories by the mid-sixties…

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