Burberry turns 170 this year, and its Christmas film celebrates the way a very rich family would: by throwing open a stately home and inviting everyone famous it knows. “Wrapped in Burberry: Celebrating 170 Years” puts Pierce Brosnan and Fiona Shaw in charge of a house party at Longleat in Wiltshire, hands the camera to Harmony Korine, and lets a guest list of actors, models and athletes run riot for a minute and a half. It is fun, expensive and very well dressed. Whether it says anything beyond “we have a lot of famous friends” is another matter.
WHAT HAPPENS ON SCREEN
The film opens on a sealed invitation and a vintage red Land Rover crunching down Longleat’s long drive. Inside, Brosnan lowers a newspaper in a book-lined library while two hounds lounge on a red sofa, and staff carry a mirror ball through the hall like a family heirloom. The guests arrive in a rush of hugs and coats: Cara Delevingne, Dylan Brosnan, Nico Parker, Kim Min-ha, Wu Lei, Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union.
Then the country weekend montage kicks in. Wade hits golf balls by a misty lake in a check jacket, couples walk through fog in the woods, and Shaw, in a classic beige trench, floors a golf buggy across the lawn with a cart full of shrieking kids and balloons behind her. By nightfall the house is a disco. Confetti, a giant mirror ball, a dog in the chaos, Brosnan on the dance floor, Union laughing, a child in tartan joining in, and a cameo from Emma Thynn, Marchioness of Bath, whose family actually owns the place. It ends outside, with a bonfire, fireworks over the facade and the Burberry knight logo, before a short coda of Shaw asleep on a cushion after the party.
The soundtrack is Sylvester and Patrick Cowley’s 1980s hi-NRG track “Do You Wanna Funk?”, and it does a lot of the heavy lifting.
CREDITS
Brand: Burberry. Film: “Wrapped in Burberry: Celebrating 170 Years,” 1:31, festive 2026 campaign, released on Burberry’s official YouTube channel on November 3, 2026. Director: Harmony Korine. Creative direction: Burberry chief creative officer Daniel Lee. Location: Longleat House, Wiltshire. Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Fiona Shaw, Cara Delevingne, Dylan Brosnan, Dwyane Wade, Gabrielle Union, Kim Min-ha, Nico Parker, Wu Lei and Emma Thynn, Marchioness of Bath. Music: “Do You Wanna Funk?” by Sylvester and Patrick Cowley. Credits per Burberry, LBB Online and Drapers; no external ad agency has been named.
THE EXECUTION
Korine is the interesting choice here. The director of Gummo and Spring Breakers is not who you call for a polite Christmas card, and you can feel him pushing against the heritage brief. The daytime half is shot like a lush country-house drama, all green lawns, wood panelling and soft fog. The night half switches to handheld chaos, smeared light and close-ups so tight the clothes almost disappear. That shift is the best idea in the film: the stately home goes from museum to rave in a single cut.
Shaw is the scene stealer. Her buggy run, mouth open in mock terror, is the one shot that feels like a person rather than a pose, and it also happens to be the clearest product moment in the film, a perfect trench in motion. Brosnan is used more as an icon than an actor. He reads the paper, he looks amused, he dances. That is probably enough for a brand that wants his Bond-era glamour rather than a performance.
WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN’T
What works: the energy. In a season crowded with soft piano covers and tearful grandparents, Burberry went for a disco track and a party, and the edit keeps pace with it. The anniversary message lands without a lecture, because the setting does the talking: old house, old brand, new noise. The check is everywhere without feeling forced, from Wade’s jacket to the scarves and the kids’ tartan.
What doesn’t: there is no story to speak of, and after the buggy scene there is very little to remember beyond a blur of famous faces. The cast list is so long that most of them get a second each, which makes the film feel more like a guest list than a party you would want to be at. And the cashmere that the festive collection is built around barely registers on screen; you would struggle to name a single product after watching. Korine’s grit is also more of a filter than a point of view. It roughs up the surfaces, but the film never risks anything that would actually make Burberry uncomfortable.
VERDICT
“Wrapped in Burberry” is a glossy, enjoyable anniversary party with one great performance from Fiona Shaw and a smart day-to-night structure. It is better than most luxury holiday films, which tend to be frozen fashion shoots with snow. But it trades story for star wattage, and the 170 years it is meant to celebrate feel more like a backdrop than an idea. Rating: 3 out of 5.
