Christopher Paul Bailey CBE (born 11 May 1971) is a British

fashion designer Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applied arts, applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has va ...

who was president and chief creative officer of

Burberry Burberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry and headquartered in London, England. It designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats, leather accessories, and footwear. It is l ...

. In May 2014, he took up the role of chief creative officer and president, following the departure of former CEO

Angela Ahrendts Dame Angela Jean Ahrendts, (born 7 June 1960) is an American-British businesswoman who was previously the senior vice president of retail at Apple Inc. She was the CEO of Burberry from 2006 to 2014. She left Burberry to join Apple in 2014. She wa ...

. In February 2018, he was succeeded as chief creative officer by

Riccardo Tisci Riccardo Tisci (; born 1974) is an Italian fashion designer. He studied in Italy at the Design Istituto d’Arte Applicata in Cantù until the age of 17, and then graduated from London's Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in 1999 ...

Early life and education

Christopher Paul Bailey was born in Yorkshire, England, the son of a carpenter and a window dresser for

Marks and Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

. He graduated from the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

with a master's degree in 1994, where he was later awarded an honorary fellowship in 2004 and, in 2013, an honorary-doctorate degree.

Career

From 1994 to 1996, he was the womenswear designer at Donna Karan and senior designer of womenswear at

Gucci Guccio Gucci S.p.A., doing business as Gucci ( , ), is an Italian Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Florence. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and ...

in Milan from 1996 to 2001. He joined

in May 2001 as design director and became creative director in 2004, and chief creative officer in November 2009. In 2008, Bailey, alongside Angela Ahrendts, established the Burberry Foundation, dedicated to helping young people realise their dreams and potential through the power of their creativity. The Burberry Foundation invests in select charities focused on supporting young people in the key cities in regions where the majority of Burberry employees live and work, and where they are able to participate in volunteer roles. On 15 October 2013, Bailey was named as the next CEO of Burberry following

's departure to Apple in mid-2014. Bailey took up the role of chief creative officer and CEO on 1 May 2014. Bailey is credited with transforming the fortunes of the company, turning it into the luxury industry's digital leader and overseeing a reinvigoration of the company's design. Bailey masterminded the design of Burberry's largest store, 121 Regent Street in London, opened in 2012, a bricks-and-mortar incarnation of the brand's website. He also oversaw the design and development of the Burberry Global Headquarters at Horseferry House in London, opened in 2009. In July 2016, it was announced that Marco Gobbetti, CEO of Céline, would be the next CEO of

. Gobbetti took over from Bailey in November 2017, who then transitioned to the role of president while also retaining the title of chief creative officer. In July 2017, Gobbetti replaced Bailey as CEO. Bailey resigned from the board in March 2018 and departed entirely from Burberry the following December.

Personal life

While in Milan, Bailey met and began dating Geert Cloet, brand designer for Miu Miu. He split his time between his home in Milan and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. When Cloet was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2004, he and Bailey moved to

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

to be near Bailey's family. Cloet died the next year. Bailey has been in a relationship with British actor

Simon Woods Simon Woods (born 7 January 1980) is an English actor and playwright best known for his role as Octavian in Season 2 of the British-American television series ''Rome'' and the 2005 '' Pride & Prejudice'' as Charles Bingley. Personal life Woo ...

since 2009, and they married in 2012. They have two daughters, Iris and Nell. In May 2014 Bailey became the first openly gay executive among

FTSE 100 The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, also called the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the "Footsie" , is the United Kingdom's best-known stock market index of the 100 most market capitalisation, highly capitalised ...

corporations. Bailey is mentoring emerging British creative talent from UK institutions including the

and the University of Huddersfield.

Gallery

File:Camp - Notes on Fashion at the Met - Burberry rainbow cape (73854).jpg, Rainbow cape by Bailey for Burberry on display at The Met's exhibit File:Claridge's London Christmas tree 2015 (23695089782).jpg, Christmas tree by Bailey for Claridge's, with over 100 umbrellas covered in gold and silver metallic fabric

Awards

*2004 – Honorary fellowship, the

where Bailey graduated from with a master of arts degree in 1994 *2005 – Designer of the Year, British Fashion Awards (UK) *2006 – Honorary-doctorate degree, the

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...

, where Bailey graduated from with a BA in 1990 *2007 – Menswear Designer of the Year 2007, British Fashion Awards (UK) *2007 – Honorary degree, doctorate of science from the University of Huddersfield, Yorkshire *2008 – Menswear Designer of the Year 2008, British Fashion Awards (UK) *2009 – Designer of the Year, British Fashion Awards (UK) *2009 – Honorary Patron of the University Philosophical Society,

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

*2009 – Appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Birthday 2009 Honours List for Services to the Fashion Industry *2010 – International Award, Council of Fashion Designers of America *2011 – Honorary-doctorate degree from

Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield station, Sheffield railway station, whil ...

, Yorkshire *2013 – Menswear Designer of the Year 2013, British Fashion Awards (UK) *2013 – Honorary-doctorate degree,

, London

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Christopher Living people 1971 births Alumni of the Royal College of Art Alumni of the University of Westminster Burberry people Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Designers from Yorkshire English businesspeople in fashion English chief executives English gay artists English fashion designers English LGBTQ businesspeople Gay businessmen LGBTQ fashion designers LGBTQ people from Yorkshire Menswear designers People from Halifax, West Yorkshire 21st-century English businesspeople 21st-century British businesspeople 21st-century English LGBTQ people