Burberry: from chav chic to First Lady’s coat of choice

How obscene that Burberry torched

£28 million of old stock last year, rather than allow it to fall into the wrong hands.

Last time I looked, Burberry specialised in raincoats rather than Enigma machines, so this truly was a bonfire of the vanities.

The heritage label has never quite recovered from the “chav Noughties”, when its signature check became the uniform of offduty soap stars and football hooligans.

Despite working hard to restore its reputation, signing up Romeo Beckham to star in its ads and big brother Brooklyn to photograph them, the past clearly casts a long shadow.

I wonder if sending so much merchandise up in smoke has anything to do with spotting surrendered First Lady Melania Trump in a Burberry coat recently?

Designers such as Tom Ford and Marc Jacobs have publicly refused to provide the former model and stiffly expressionless Stepford wife of US President Donald with clothes, so she buys her own.

She may not be their dream customer, but can anyone blame her for wanting a Burberry to see her through?

After all, every woman needs a reliable trench as she digs in and waits for the worst to be over.