Mulberry celebrates half-century with designer collabs

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
May 19, 2021

Mulberry is preparing for a series of contemporary designer collaborations as it celebrates its 50th anniversary. The company said reaching its half century will see a series of “joyful” link-ups with “three of the most visionary designers of their generation”.

Priya Ahluwalia, Richard Malone and Nicholas Daley will each create a capsule collection as part of Mulberry Editions. This is a new offering of limited-edition accessories that will drop throughout the year.

Each of the trio has “re-imagined an existing Mulberry silhouette”, blending their personal unique design ethos in each case with Mulberry’s core values — “progressive British craftsmanship, made-to-last design, responsible innovation and community spirit”.

Sustainability is also key “with an emphasis on low-impact manufacturing, innovative sourcing and product circularity” in line with the Made to Last Manifesto the company launched last month.

We don’t yet know what the products will look like, but we should expect each to reflect the relevant designer.

Priya Ahluwalia’s three-year-old multi-award-winning label combines elements from the designer’s dual Indian-Nigerian heritage and London roots, and explores the potential of vintage and surplus clothing by giving existing materials new life through textile techniques. This will be the first collab with a June launch.

London-based, Irish-born designer and multi-disciplinary artist Richard Malone is known for creative cutting and draping, as well as strong use of individual colours. His collab launches in September.

Meanwhile the last to launch will be Nicholas Daley in November. His work explores his dual-ethnic Jamaican and Scottish heritage and reflects the notion of multiculturalism within the British identity. He works with recognised artisans creating bespoke textiles and fabric finishes for every collection.