Burberry Christmas ad: Domhnall Gleeson, Sienna Miller and Dominic West tell the story of the 160-year-old brand

Gleeson stars as Burberry founder Thomas Burberry, with Miller starring as his fictional first love

It’s that time of the year again, when brands and department stores compete for the best Christmas TV advert of the year.

British luxury brand Burberry is the first fashion power house to take the plunge in 2016 with a cinematic take on the life of Thomas Burberry, the company's founder.

“The tale of Thomas Burberry”, which celebrates the brand’s 160th anniversary, features an all-star cast including Star Wars actor Domhnall Gleeson as Thomas Burberry, Sienna Miller, who plays his fictional first love and Dominic West as the explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, who wore Burberry gabardine for three Antarctic expeditions

The three minute clip was directed by Asif Kapadia, who won an Oscar for his documentary Amy earlier this year.

Taking key moments from Burberry’s history, the advert re-imagines events which have shaped the company’s values and key moments.

These include the invention of gabardin, the waterproof fabric which is still used in all of Burberry's trenchcoatsand sponsoring the record-breaking flight from London to Cape Town by real life pilot Betty Kirby Green played by Lily James.

Christopher Bailey, Burberry chief creative office, said: “This Christmas, as we celebrate our 160th anniversary we wanted to tell the story of Thomas Burberry – pioneer, inventor, innovator, and the man behind the iconic trench coat – in our own words”

“The film we have made is a brief glimpse inspired by his full and extraordinary life, which threaded its way through the history of the twentieth century in all its tumultuous highs and lows.”

“We feel very proud to be sharing The Tale of Thomas Burberry this Christmas - his spirit and his vision are still at the heart of everything we do at Burberry today.

The advert marks a clear change from the festive From London with Love campaign , which celebrated gifting during the festive season campaign and featured 12 year old Romeo Beckham.