I had the pleasure of accepting a special invitation by the lovely ladies at Mulberry who had very kindly asked me down to Mulberry’s beautiful headquarters in London to explore the new autumn and winter collections over glasses of delicious Champagne. It truly was a dream to be walking along inside the showroom (my God that room is huge), examining all the precious bits and pieces one by one – from handbags to shoes, dresses, iPhone covers, belts and so much more.
You probably read that ex-Mulberry Creative Director Emma Hill left last year – the label has been going through some changes but the future looks very exciting. I was quite eager to have a closer look at the Cara Delevingne collection and see whether the bags look as good in person as they do online. Not only do they look every bit as good – they look better. The British Supermodel has worked closely with Mulberry for over two years on numerous projects, including modelling in the brand’s London Fashion Week Shows and working with Art Director Ronnie Cooke Newhouse, Stylist Edward Enninful and Photographer Tim Walker on seasonal campaigns.
It was during a photo shoot for the Spring/Summer 2014 campaign that Mulberry learnt of Cara’s passion for creating and designing. An interesting bit of trivia: Cara studied fashion and textiles at school.
For this special collaboration, Cara looked into the archives, chose some of her favourite fabrics, sketched ideas and discussed customers’ practical needs with the design team. There was also emphasis on the trend for understated elegance.
I love quilted leather – not just because it looks luxurious but because it feels wonderfully soft (made from Nappa leather. We all know how much Cara loves to wear bags on her back, so it should come as no surprise that she has chosen to have the bags in the collection designed in this manner – with straps enabling you to wear them on your back too, and they also have normal handbag handles so you can carry them by hands too in the traditional manner. Oh, and it can also be worn over the shoulder. That’s three different ways to wear it. My verdict? I love it. Some more personal touches were added, such as: a small lion rivet, in gold, inspired by Cara’s lion tattoo and a heart shaped patch based on her own heart tattoo. All bags created for the Mulberry Cara Delevingne Collection are made in England, at Mulberry’s Somerset ateliers; The Rookery in Chilcompton and The Willows in Bridgwater – where a large team of 700 local craftsmen and craftswomen combined to bring the bags to life.
By the way, from Mulberry’s main line collection, how cute are the Tessie Small Satchels?!
