Burberry launches activewear line rooted in its outerwear heritage
Burberry turned gabardine-era protection into 69 pieces of activewear, then loaded them with Check, Knight blue and polished gym-floor luxury.
Burberry’s newest move is not a trench coat. It is 69 pieces of women’s activewear built to make the gym feel like an extension of the house’s weatherproof world, not a break from it. The line is Burberry’s first major push into activewear, and it lands with a clear thesis: the brand wants movement, not just protection, to read as part of its identity.
That argument starts with the code Burberry has spent 169 years selling. Thomas Burberry’s 1879 invention of gabardine, the lightweight, breathable, weatherproof and tearproof cloth that helped define the label, still sits at the center of the story. Burberry also keeps returning to the same romantic frame: outerwear for explorers, from Sir Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 Antarctic expedition to the brand’s broader claim that it has pioneered clothing that protects people from the elements for 169 years. The activewear collection does not abandon that mythology. It stretches it into cropped hoodies, bra tops, matching leggings, jogging pants, shorts and soft sweatshirts made for movement.
Visually, the range is exactly where Burberry should be looking if it wants this to work. The palette leans on breathable fabrics, classic neutrals and Knight blue, with Burberry Check and the Equestrian Knight Design placed on leggings, gilets, hooded jackets and joggers. That keeps the line from drifting into generic luxury athleisure. It still feels Burberry, just loosened up, more supple, less boardroom, more brisk walk in Hyde Park before Pilates.
The bigger question is whether this strengthens the house or muddies it. On one hand, it makes sense: Burberry’s core product has always been outerwear, and activewear is basically outerwear’s younger, more social-media-friendly sibling. On the other, leggings and bra tops are a crowded market, and Burberry has to work harder than brands that were born in sport. The luxury angle only sticks if the tailoring of the idea is as sharp as the tailoring of a coat. Otherwise, the Check starts looking decorative instead of directional.
The timing tells its own story. Burberry’s FY 2024/25 annual report called the year particularly difficult, with total revenue of £2,461 million and adjusted operating profit of £26 million, while the creative transition launched in 2023 struggled to gain traction. Joshua Schulman, who became chief executive in July 2025 after Jonathan Akeroyd, is now trying to push the business back toward sustainable, profitable growth under the Burberry Forward strategy. In that context, the activewear line reads like more than a category launch. It is Burberry betting that its heritage can survive a little sweat, and maybe even look better for it.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
Did this article answer your question?
