Burberry's Christmas Ad Is a Cinematic Epic About the Life of Its Founder

Dominic West, Domhnall Gleeson, Lily James and Sienna Miller Star in Trailer-Like Blockbuster

Published On
Nov 01, 2016

Editor's Pick

For this year's Christmas campaign, Burberry has gathered an all-star cast for a sumptuous film about the life of its founder, Thomas Burberry.

Domhnall Gleeson plays Thomas Burberry in the "Tale of Thomas Burberry," which takes the form of a cinematic trailer for a movie about his life. It shows Burberry founding his company at the age of 21 and developing his gabardine fabric for both the First World War and the expedition led by Ernest Shackleton (played by Dominic West) to the Antarctic in 1914. Lily James plays aviator Betty Kirby-Green, whose flight to Cape Town in 1937 was sponsored by Burberry, while Sienna Miller plays Burberry's fictional first love. Sets from the film, including Thomas Burberry's workshop, were inspired by archive materials.

British director Asif Kapadia (whose work includes the Amy Winehouse documentary "Amy") directed the film, which features all the stirring music, beautiful costumes and meaningful glances you might expect from a trailer for an Oscar-worthy epic. We're only sad the movie itself doesn't exist.