Burberry is the British fashion house known for its trench coats and distinctive tartan check pattern. Thomas Burberry founded the company in 1856 in Basingstoke, England, and it later became headquartered in London.
The brand’s outerwear heritage is closely tied to gabardine, a weather-resistant fabric Thomas Burberry developed and patented in 1879. Burberry supplied practical coats for explorers and military personnel, and its trench coat became associated with British officers during the First World War. After the war, the style moved from military use into civilian fashion.
Burberry’s famous check was initially used mainly as a lining for trench coats, rather than as the all-over pattern many shoppers recognize today. Aquascutum is a common mix-up because it also has a strong claim to trench-coat history, but Burberry is the canonical answer when the clue combines trench coats with the signature beige, black, white, and red check. The design is a check pattern, often casually called tartan.