Burberry says there’s a new woman in town. ‘No’ her name isn’t Bella Hadid or Jourdan Dunn, but they, too, love Lola, a trim handbag with a big personality.

The strong, sexy workhorse women are often forgotten in the modern world — arguably NOT a trait of Burberry Creative Director Roberto Tisci, who has loved Lola since his arrival at the celebrated heritage brand.

Certain big names in modern culture wish to remold women according to their male vision, but not Tisci. The designer has always loved, embraced and built a bigger stage for women who soar on our own credentials and confidence.

Women trust Roberto Tisci not to make us caricatures of ourselves, and we love him deeply for his vision. In fact, the new Lola campaign makes me appreciate Tisci more than ever. The designer has walked his talk about valuing women — born that way or living life that way — since bursting onto the fashion stage at Givenchy.

Sorry for going male and female in our convo, but we do NOT live in a genderless world. Not yet, anyway.

Lola Is Back

“Lola is confident, she’s cool, and she’s effortless’ Burberry [IG] claims about women who who are locked in Lola’s orbit. Bella and Jourdan are joined by Lourdes Leon and Ella Richards [granddaughter of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards] in the Burberry Lola handbag campaign created by Torso solutions.

Horses — both real and mechanical — are a common Burberry icon and they are industrial origins, techno-world art in the new images styled by Suzanne Koller. Zach Apo-Tsang works on set design with Ryan Chappell acting as director of photography and movement./ Hair by Soichi Inagaki; makeup by Lauren Parsons

“Born in London – our creative and spiritual home for over 130 years – Lola embodies the city’s boundless energy and limitless potential, encouraging you to go beyond, break boundaries and be unapologetically unique.” -- Burberry

Bella Hadid

It was amazing to work with Riccardo and the Burberry family again and I absolutely loved shooting this campaign! I always have the best time on set, there was so much energy and it was great to work with a mixture of incredibly talented people – Bella Hadid

Jourdan Dunn

The Lola attitude embodies being strong yet graceful and fierce yet gentle. It means having the confidence to be yourself and have a unique point of view, staying curious and challenging norms. Not taking no for an answer and having self-confidence; that’s the Lola attitude. Working on the campaign was incredible! It has been the perfect mix of getting to work with such an iconic British brand, paired with such an original and exciting campaign concept. The bag is gorgeous, it’s a real honour to represent the first Lola campaign. – Jourdan Dunn

Lola in Her Burberry Glory

Lola, at the very core, embodies an attitude – she is strong, sensual and intelligent all at once. An ode to strong women the world over. For the campaign, I really wanted to celebrate that attitude and all of the facets that make up the Burberry woman, so together with Torso, we created a fantasy world where she is free to exhibit her strength and be captured in all of her beauty from every angle.
Strong women have always inspired me beyond limitations, and Bella, Lourdes, Jourdan and Ella embody that spirit. They represent femininity at its most powerful and the essence of that attitude that is inherently Lola. – Riccardo Tisci, Burberry Chief Creative Officer

Made of lambskin leather, the campaign for Lola features three main colors: pale vanilla, black, and camel. The music for the campaign video is by Ville Haimala.

Ella Richards

It was such an honour to be involved in this project and work collaboratively with all the creatives to realise Riccardo’s vision. For me, Lola means independence. Having the control to do what you want, when you want, and be who you want to be. I think it’s important that everyone has that freedom of choice. - Ella Richards

Lourdes Leon

The Lola attitude to me is provocative. While working on the campaign, I felt humbled yet comfortable. Although Ricardo is family, I know Burberry has a legacy and I wanted to do it justice. – Lourdes Leon

Torso Solutions

Working on this Burberry campaign was a really special experience, we worked with an incredible team to produce our vision, including DoP Daniel Landin and innovative camera rig inventor Tony Hill. In a moment in which the Chroma Studio dominates film and TV production, we are interested in seeing what’s beneath the layers of visual effects – giving shape to a surreal fantasy of image-making. We imagined the Lola woman as the catalyst of the campaign, in which her natural momentum propels the kinetic movement seen in the film. She is in control of her image, exposing the mechanics of their production – and taking agency over the complex machinery of contemporary life – Torso Solutions

AOC Archives