ALEXANDRA SHULMAN'S NOTEBOOK: If Burberry suffers, it's bad news for small labels

Daily Mail​

18-05-2025

It's been a noisy week in British fashion. The Princess of Wales presented the Queen Elizabeth II prize for British design dressed in a chic Victoria Beckham trouser suit. Given Kate's ability to boost sales of the brands she wears, it's a big thumbs-up for Victoria's UK business.
There was less cheering news at Burberry, where 1,700 staff are losing their jobs. This matters. Burberry is the standard-bearer for UK fashion and our only brand with true global resonance. In uncertain times, we need it to be resilient – like an aircraft carrier steaming ahead with lots of little boats sailing in its wake. If Burberry goes down, it damages that whole flotilla of small labels.
Yet if you look past those bleak job-loss figures, Burberry is actually in better shape than it has been for years. Its most recent losses came in lower than expected, and the share price is up. The consensus is that new CEO Joshua Schulman is on the right track and making sure creative director Daniel Lee delivers items that people might actually buy.
This week, they're in LA showcasing a collection based on the King's gardens at Highgrove. Amusingly, the setting for the display is Richard Christiansen's Flamingo Estate – home of the business selling home-grown jams, honey and elegant knick-knacks that inspired the Duchess of Sussex 's As Ever range.
A recipe for misery, whatever you call it
The other night, fuelled by glasses of rosé, a group of my women friends were discussing Intermezzo, the latest novel from best-selling author Sally Rooney.
The book, about the relationship between two brothers and the women in their lives, delves into the thorny question of commitment. As we debated the pros and cons of throuples, one of my friends – the founder of mental health hub Welldoing.org – informed us that 'consensual non-monogamy' is currently a big issue in her field.
Consensual non-monogamy? We all looked baffled. Of course we all knew about free love, open marriages and people generally exploring sex outside a relationship. But we hadn't heard of this strange new term. Nor its apparently strict rules of behaviour. No behind-the-scenes cheating. No secret sexting. Everything to be declared, as if on a tax form.
No wonder younger people find the whole dating scene a minefield, with its vast vocabulary to describe every possible type and style of relationship. I've only just got my head around 'situationship' (a casual relationship) and now there's a whole other category to deal with.
It doesn't sound like much fun. We all agreed it's become clear by our stage of life that open relationships generally lead to unhappiness and confusion. Calling it 'consensual non-monogamy' and formalising the idea of having your cake and eating it – sexually speaking – won't make much difference. But I guess we have to let the younger crew learn that for themselves.
Good news for the mental health practitioners employed to deal with the fall-out.
Is Ozempic the key to eternal life too?
Every day I read of a new reason why fat jabs like Ozempic and Mounjaro are incredibly good for us. As well as weight loss, they are believed to help with high cholesterol and blood pressure, and delay the onset of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. At this rate it won't be long before we find out they hold the secret to eternal life.
All of which means it's getting harder to justify my position as one of an increasingly small band of jab refuseniks.
Our only hope now is some compelling evidence comes forward of the harm the drugs cause.
Parody that's made BA a laughing stock
I'd be interested to see the market research that convinced British Airways to produce its simply awful safety briefing video. I'm a bit late to the party (the video was released last year) but when I saw it recently, I couldn't believe it had ever been commissioned.
If you haven't yet had the misfortune, imagine a spoof of well-known period dramas, with the cast split between BA crew in uniforms and actors in Regency and Victorian costume posing on horseback and hanging around in stately homes. It's all utterly pointless and not remotely amusing.
I can't imagine it'll make anybody remember to put on their safety belt or attend to their oxygen mask first. If safety is taken as seriously as airlines claim, why give us such critical information via a lame parody of Downton Abbey?
The true brilliance of tragic Hannah
It's now known that the Bayesian superyacht sunk off the coast of Italy last summer because its exceptionally high mast was unable to tolerate extreme winds. Seven died in the disaster, including the yacht's owner, tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.
In the latest edition of the London Library magazine I was struck to find two poems – something the magazine very rarely publishes. Both were written by Hannah, who had joined the library shortly before last year's fatal yacht trip.
They had been donated by her mother – who survived the disaster – and her English teacher, who had deemed Hannah an especially talented pupil. Judging by her two sophisticated poems, I think most people would agree. It only makes Hannah's death more tragic.
Trump's big crime is against fashion
When my boyfriend slips into one of his lightweight blue Harrington jackets, I always think he looks a dead ringer for a US president on Camp David downtime.
George Bush, Bill Clinton, Obama – take your pick. It's a good look – kind of sporty but way smarter than a hoodie.
Unfortunately, the clothes that come to mind when one imagines the current White House incumbent are his terrible bright blue suits, which give him the silhouette of a brick… and the style of a Lego man.