I was going to do a write-up on last night's Burberry party because it was clearly a new direction for the brand. For one thing, they hired (on recommendation of co-host model Agyness Deyn) the PR to the hip and groovy East End set, Mandi Lennard. So instead of the usual socialites and it-girls drinking champagne in demure dresses in the West End it was a full roster of London youth drinking champagne in biker boots in a night club in Camden, with the odd confused fashion journalist milling about in pearls. I brought Lisa Rachal, an analyst with Redburn Partners as my date and she did such a tip top job of putting it all in perspective in a research note -- hours before I was even at my desk -- that I thought I'd just let you see what she thought. For pictures go to, Vogue.com

Last night I joined fashion journalist Lauren Goldstein Crowe for the launch party of Burberry's new fragrance, The Beat. While clubbing on a Monday night is not my usual MO, I had to see what the heck Burberry was doing launching a fragrance at the hip Koko Club in Camden with a party starting at 9pm. Usually, fragrance launches take place at a slightly more "civilised" venue in Central London and start at 7pm so the VIPs can make a quick photo op appearance and the rest of the crowd can still make a late dinner.

In its latest release (30th November) Burberry's fragrance license partner, Interparfums, said "the fragrance is hoped to recruit new younger consumers with this new product and a major publicity campaign is being launched shortly". Everything made sense immediately upon arrival. Heard of BoomBox? I'm pretty sure that's where the invitations were distributed. Some are calling this Sunday club night in Hoxton Square the next Studio 54. For a little brush up on next gen pop culture, here's what the Guardian wrote about BoomBox recently:

"Now, Boombox is the key club - staged every Sunday night at the Hoxton Bar and Grill in Shoreditch. It serves as an unofficial showcase for London designers like Giles Deacon [British Designer of the Year 2006], Gareth Pugh and David David - ...The Boombox promoters want as many kids as possible to dress up and have as much fun as they can...When BoomBox came rolling into town around a year ago, it...was just another east London hangout. For the first night, that is. Quicker than you can say Blitz Kids, club legend status suddenly seemed assured. How this happened is a mystery. Similar clubs blossomed at the same time...but none are on the radar of American Vogue, featured on the cover of London's Time Out and have thousands of club kids causing a road block round Hoxton Square every Sunday night...Somehow or other, in just over a year, BoomBox has captured the global zeitgeist...it could be this generation's Studio 54. Freaks mingle with the fabulous (this club is as much about the outfit as the anthem) and the new gen mix with club legends Princess Julia, Wolfgang Tillmans and Philip Salon...Richard Mortimer, BoomBox's promoter, is determined his club will down in the history of afterdark London. He has, so far, arranged for Bjork to DJ, seen Naomi Campbell get down on the dancefloor and persuaded Kylie Minogue to shimmy on the bar..."

The party was packed with these "BoomBox" kids (roughly 1500 of them) plus the odd celebrity/socialite/business exec and included a 45-minute set from hit UK band The Fratellis. I must admit I felt a bit old and underdressed (my super-hip clubbing clothes were still at the cleaners, obviously). But it was fun to observe as a fly on the wall because this BoomBox phenomenon is important in the London fashion scene and London fashion is hot again according to those much better placed than I to judge.

So what does this say about Burberry? Some industry experts feel the brand has reached a different stage in its evolution this year, and I would have to agree. And I think last night's fragrance launch was yet another sign of Creative Director Christopher Bailey's objective to push the Burberry brand into more modern and culturally relevant territory, whilst making sure to remain firmly within the brand's DNA. In an industry that is filled with so much same same not so different, originality is a breath of fresh air and a chance to really distinguish oneself with from one's competitors, if done well. Take Louis Vuitton's collaboration with the edgy, subversive artist Richard Prince for Spring/Summer '08, for example. It has received a love/hate reaction but something tells me there will be wait lists galore come Springtime.

Burberry has only really tiptoed edgy into its product range (with the studded platform shoes, coats and handbags this season), which is probably a good thing given its customer base. But the brand is at least experimenting with edgy in its advertising and promotion. For example, this year's advertising campaign featured the next generation of cool celebrities including Otis and Isaac Ferry (of Brian), Daisy Lowe (of Pearl), Sam Branson (of Richard), Theodora and Alexandra Richards (of Keith), in additon to the standard models (Stella Tennant, Lily Donaldson, Agyness Deyn, Kate Moss). According to fashion photographer Mario Testino during the shoot: "I immediately realised that Burberry has reached another stage in its history. Christopher Bailey has taken Burberry into a very modern dimension. It was crucial that the advertising campaign expressed this new energy. Talking to Christopher, we agreed that the look we wanted to achieve was a mix of Cecil Beaton imagery and the Sixties feeling in London, reinterpreted with the people and the vigour of today. The new swinging London." And now BoomBox night in Camden.

The Beat is scheduled to launch in select stores starting in February with full worldwide rollout following beginning in March. If you are wondering why there was a launch party for a fragrance that won't be out for another 3 months, that is because that is how long the leadtime is for the glossy magazines. Interparfums clearly has big hopes for the launch, commenting in its latest release that The Beat is expecting to lead sales growth for its European operations in 2008. I estimate The Beat could add 3-4% to Burberry Group profit in calendar 2008.