Early this morning, Mulberry announced its new bag, the Del Rey, inspired by much debated singer-slash-muse Lana Del Rey. That elicited groans from a few editors. But hey, isn't fashion all about manufactured image? A perfectly lovely structured leather flap bag with a top handle doesn't need indie cred.
At today's show, Del Rey was only one spot in the celebrity power strip of Elizabeth Olsen, Michelle Williams, Downton Abbey's Michelle Dockery, Bill Nighy, and Lagerfeld-approved rapper Azealia Banks. It's arguably one of the best front rows in the city (Burberry gives it a run for its money), and the soup-to-nuts staging of the season's inspiration is like buying a ticket to luxury Disney World.
For Fall, it was Where the Wild Things Are, which gave you shaggy black sheepskin-covered benches and two inflated Wild Things standing like sentries on either side of the runway. And on it, the look was deliciously autumnal and appropriately furry. There were beastly Mongolian coats and skirts, rabbit-trimmed hooded coats, and knitted fur pieces—gilets and a full dress—that looked light as air. Even the Maisie messenger bag was recast in black shearling. Those textures mixed it up in belted layers with bright tweeds, big chunky hand-knits, tiger prints, lace, and slick lacquered wool. As for bags, the surprisingly simple Del Rey came in sparkly blue embossed croc and a gold snake print, and joining it were new versions of classics like the Lily and the Alexa, some made to coordinate with the clothes.
You sometimes sit at Mulberry calculating how much the accessories behemoth might have spent on the full runway production, the adorable food and drinks, the wrangling of A-listers. Then the Muppets song "Mahna Mahna" closes the show and it all falls away. Ultimately, you have to hand it to a brand that delivers its infectious message in such a watertight and frankly fun way.
