Burberry was a diamond “trodden in the dust” when Christopher Bailey first arrived.

Christopher joined the fashion house in 2001 as creative director and later became chief creative director. He admits the brand was in a fragile state when he started.

“Burberry was an incredibly beautiful diamond that had been trodden into the dust,” he said during an appearance at The Vogue Festival in London.

The designer attended the fashion magazine’s event which kicked off today, where he discussed many aspects of the fashion house. He explained how he came to choose Emma Watson as the face of Burberry.

"I got to know Emma Watson socially and then we decided to work together, that's how it usually works," he said,

He also shared his thoughts on Raf Simon’s recent appointment as artistic director at Dior. Raf has replaced John Galliano who was fired after he was accused of making racist comments during an argument in Paris.

"I expect Raf will do an amazing job at Dior," Bailey said in response to a question from the audience.

"Dior is a huge company with an amazing heritage; there's so much potential. Raf is a hugely talented designer. I'm very happy and content being at Burberry; it's still my baby in so many ways. I love this brand, it means so much more to me than just a job, but Raf is such a cool guy he'll do amazingly. He'll be a rock star there."

The Vogue Festival brings together fashion’s leading photographers, writers, designers and models, many of who are interviewed on stage in front of an audience. The two-day extravaganza ends tomorrow.

The festival’s line-up also includes Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, Stella McCartney, Laura Bailey, Edie Campbell and Mary Portas.