Burberry’s sound designer, DJ Benji B, on London Fashion Week’s crescendo
The autumn/winter edition of London Fashion Week concluded last night with British luxury fashion house Burberry showing its collection at Old Billingsgate – a former Victorian fish-market-turned-events-space. Providing the soundtrack to the evening was British DJ, producer and radio presenter Benji B, who has collaborated with the brand since Daniel Lee was appointed chief creative director in September 2022. “When I see feet tapping at a show I know that I’ve done a good job,” he tells Monocle. We hear from Benji B about this season’s inspiration and why the UK’s music scene is a soft-power tool.
How does this season’s show soundtrack represent an evolution of your collaboration with Burberry?
With Daniel at Burberry, I wanted to develop a story that celebrates a single artist – and British music – each time. I think of the shows as a box set. Each episode makes sense on its own but if you zoom out and look at them all together, you’ll see the arc of a story. [The inspiration] was a cocktail of different things that put me into a pocket of sound. This season’s strong themes were London at night and femininity. All the planets eventually settle into orbit but generally it’s a combination of seeing what the expression of the set is, as well as the initial mood boards with Daniel and the collection itself. We often go through a few ideas and options of different sequences and artists before landing on the final selection. Obviously, Daniel has the big picture. It’s always a back-and-forth process.
The UK’s music scene is an incredible soft-power tool for Britain. Which heritage elements do you tap into for a project like this?
It’s very easy to focus on the elements that are celebrated. It’s important to note that it doesn’t come from some overly patriotic standpoint but how beautiful, varied and diverse the contribution of British music is to the world. It doesn’t have to be musical heritage either – it can be contemporary. I’ve used songs by Dean Blunt and then Amy Winehouse. Last season in Hyde Park we celebrated Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne because we have always been fans of the song ‘Planet Caravan’. I’m very proud to say that tonight’s artist, FKA Twigs, is someone who is very contemporary but sits in the same space as all those people.
Music plays a crucial part in setting the tone and the mood of a fashion show. How do you hope people feel when they watch something that you’ve created the soundtrack for?
I hope that people can leave inspired. You don’t want the music to distract from the fashion. We’re supporting the work of a designer that is showing on the runway. But we don’t want it to just be background noise – it has to have dynamic range. It’s amazing what sound can achieve in 12 to 15 minutes. What I love about FKA Twigs is that her music has that dynamic range across different albums and eras. I hope that people experience a journey and find a soundtrack that feels contemporary. What we often take away from runway shows is the last thing that we experience, so I want people to leave feeling energised.
