Image via Burberry

What: Burberry is getting hip. The once-stodgy British brand is hoping to ditch its past reputation by creating a new social networking site called artofthetrench.com, where users from around the world will submit photos of themselves wearing Burberry trenchcoats. The new site is expected to launch next month.

What They Say:
“These might not even be customers yet. Or they may be a customer for a bottle of fragrance or for eyewear,” said Angela Ahrendts, Burberry’s chief executive “But these are the customers who need the brand experience, who need to feel the brand. That word-of-mouth spreads through their social networks and continues to be a positive conversation [about Burberry] . . . that is so powerful.”

What We Say: It won’t be easy for Burberry is move away its reputation as an old-school luxury brand entirely, but the creation of a new social networking site is certainly one step in the right direction. We can’t wait to see that they’ve come up with when the site debuts on the web next month.