How do you make a map cool? By putting it on a Burberry parka

I saw a coat and I liked it. This, in itself, is not unusual. Some people’s eyes are too big for their stomachs; my coat collection is too big for my wardrobe. And I’m particularly partial to a coat that looks great and can do battle with the British weather. The coat I saw is a Burberry parka with a map of London picked out in raised embroidery so tactile that the city appears to almost lift itself from the fabric.

I found myself wondering why I liked it. Was it the parka? The map? The slightly improbable combination of the two? And, more importantly, when did maps become cool enough for one of Britain’s biggest brands to start decorating entire collections with them?

London has been mapped for more than 2,000 years — though cartographers have not always been very interested in helping us get to where we want to go. Instead, they’ve revealed not only how the city has expanded outwards, but how Londoners understand their own city.

One of the earliest surviving depictions is the Cottonian map, dating from around the 12th or 13th century, when places were mapped according to their religious and political importance. It was followed by: the Tudor-era Agas map, made right before rapid Elizabethan expansion; William’s Morgan’s 1676 London map, produced after the Great Fire and a testament to Sir Christopher Wren’s rebuilding ambitions as well as the reality that emerged; and John Rocque’s monumental 1746 map which covered an area of squares, gardens, villages and newly developing suburbs that would soon be swallowed whole by London.

Then there are the maps that are not really maps at all, including Harry Beck’s 1931 Underground effort, Paula Scher’s riotous, 21-colour silkscreen treasure (above), and Ursula Hitz’s typographic offering. They were made in different centuries using different technologies, but they’re all big and bold and an attempt to make sense of London.

For all their beauty, maps have never quite had the headline-making cachet of other collectibles (think Lalanne sheep, Jean Royère furniture or Lucie Rie ceramics). Until now. Wealthy boomers collected blue-chip paintings. Gen Z — who view paper maps as aesthetic wall art or tools for experiential travel — is opting for collectibles, a $320 billion market. In 2022, Roque’s Plan of the Cities of London and Westminster (c. 1749) sold for more than £58,000 at auction; last year, one of Beck’s annotated proofs fetched £88,900 at auction. Young collectors are striving to create a personal narrative, says Emanuela Tarizzo, director of Frieze Masters. ‘Collectors, whatever their age, are searching for stories that resonate with them, and for a sense of discovery.’ In other words, everyone is tired of homogenous, mass-produced slop.

Burberry's London landmark map design — which appears on fleeces, T-shirts, umbrellas and silk scarves, as well as the parka — turns the familiar business of mapping London into wearable art. The pieces, a part of the Winter 2026 collection, designed by Daniel Lee to celebrate Burberry’s 170th anniversary, are available to purchase at a month-long Harrods pop-up.

The brand opened its first store in the capital at 30, Haymarket in 1891; its trench coats — the garment with which the brand is still most readily associated — are synonymous with our wet, urban landscapes and have London names. Kensington, Chelsea, Waterloo and Camden. The midwinter show, held at Old Billingsgate Market, channeled a London that I, for one, definitely recognise: moody, damp and in a constant state of flux. The space was dimly lit, and decorated with resin puddles and check-patterned scaffolding.

In other words, Burberry has co-opted London as its own. Several of the pieces are embellished with their knight motif, but it is the map of famous landmarks, from Buckingham Palace to Burberry’s headline-making headquarters, that really stands out. Perhaps this is why I keep coming back to the parka. I, too, want to tame London, to understand it — and what better way to try and do that by wearing it. The best bit: it’s made to order, so you won’t find yourself playing spot-the-parka all over London.

Burberry's London map-embroidered cotton sateen parka in navy is POA. The Harrods pop-up is open until October 28.