A breath of fresh air definitely set the tone for the storied British brand's collection preview, last February, which took place on the top floor of its lofty West Kensington HQ. With the new creative director, Johnny Coca, on the verge of taking the lead of the Mulberry Fashion house, it was up to the brand's design team to deliver quality and true innovation, even in the most uncertain of times, for one last time before handing in the reins to Céline's former head of creation.
Inspired by the faded grandeur of English manor houses of the Georgian era, Mulberry's ready-to-wear Fall 2015 collection made a clever use of tactile textile and other various textures to riff on neo-classic filigree motifs, a recurring theme within the Fashion line. Mouldings and other architectural decorations inspired the basis of notorious fabrics for the Fall, such as woven jacquards and embroideries. You had to be impressed by the crafmanship behind the brick-red and white check wool ponchos, shearling coats, printed silk pajama coordinates or the alpaca sweaters, which, FYI, were brushed all over with thistles 20 times to draw out the yarn and achieve a fluffier texture ;)
Meanwhile, Mulberry's famed Roxanne tote bag gave way to a petal-pink sheepskin update, the Roxette. Probably one of the cutest accessories of the season, if you ask me ! There is nothing like a dainty, colourful take on a label's iconic bag to make you want to empty your pockets in prevision of the next season's it-girl nomination, or simply to have it draped over the arms of the Mulberry devotee that you are.
Conservative shoppers and saavy consumers will gravitate towards this Fall line which has been very mindful of its younger audience, providing a modern take on British heritage as well as seamless day-to-night transition options; a power move to accomodate the new ultra-busy professional and worldly crowd, for a house that has been around for so long !
