Burberry and Leeds Beckett Reinvent The Trench Coat to Train Yorkshire’s Next Generation

A Yorkshire-rooted partnership The partnership is rooted in a shared connection to Yorkshire, where Burberry maintains a longstanding presence through its Leeds office and manufacturing sites in Castleford and Keighley.

These sites are central to the making of the Burberry trench coat, with gabardine woven in Keighley and coats constructed and hand‑finished in Castleford.

By partnering with Leeds Beckett University’s Leeds School of Arts, Burberry brings its heritage of craftsmanship and innovation into direct contact with emerging designers, blending academic training with real‑world industry expectations.

“Reinventing the Trench: A Study in Craft and Form” As part of Leeds Beckett’s flagship tailoring project, second year students took on a live industry brief titled “Reinventing the Trench: A Study in Craft and Form.” The brief challenged them to: Redesign and construct the Burberry trench coat using surplus gabardine, the pioneering fabric invented by Thomas Burberry in 1879…