Burberry's breathtaking ad sees dancers soaring through the skies

Last year, fashion brand Burberry riveted audiences and collected accolades for the holiday ad "Festive," a modern-day take on the Hollywood classic "Singin' in the Rain." Now, Burberry has teamed once again with directorial collective Megaforce and choreographers La Horde for another free-wheeling, fantastical film to promote its Fall/Winter line.  

"Open Spaces" is a balletic and movement-inspired piece with a mesmeric feel, featuring four friends cloaked in cozy-looking Burberry outerwear while on a countryside ramble. The quaint scene quickly becomes otherworldly, as the friends are suddenly lifted by a ripple of wind, taking flight in a cornfield, zooming through forests and over a lake and twirling their limbs like gymnasts. Eventually, the soar out over the White Cliffs of Dover (which we're wondering might be some kind of subliminal Brexit metaphor) as they become entwined together. The two-and-a-half minute spot is set to music track  "Counting Atomic" by Ryan Lott.

According to Burberry's chief creative officer, Riccardo Tisci, in a statement, the film "celebrates the fearless spirit of exploration which connects us with one another and the natural world."

"Freedom allows us to be creative, to dream, to be anything or anyone. Burberry, like me, has had freedom at its heart since the very beginning," said Tisci, pointing a quote from to the brand's founder, Thomas Burberry, that "inherent in every garment is freedom."

"For this film, we had the idea to celebrate the joy of being free, the love for nature, and the strength of the collective," added Megaforce. "These are familiar themes to Burberry’s vocabulary as well as its heritage of exploring the outdoors. We wanted to communicate these notions and it’s such a nice feeling when something out of our imagination becomes a reality."

Additionally, La Horde commented: "The end of the film is very important for us. It is a moment of powerful, suspended love where all the characters unite in a last push, a last embrace, because they do not wish to leave each other after what they have gone through and explored together. Like an early morning rendezvous on the edge of a forest, the bodies we have imagined in this film race with the sun to never sleep. Like a newfound freedom. Finally together again.” 

The spot doesn't quite have the fierceness and energy of "Festive," but the dynamic, breathtaking visuals and effects make for a worthy follow-up. 

The campaign's launch coincides with Burberry announcing the appointment of a new CEO, Jonathan Akeroyd, who joins next April from his role as CEO of Gianni Versace. He replaces Marco Gobetti, who left to go to Salvatore Ferragamo.