Haute World: Mulberry

Showing posts with label Mulberry. Show all posts

Mulberry: 40th Anniversary Book & Windows (London, UK)

When I first passed the Mulberry flagship on Bond Street two weeks ago, I was a bit surprised to see the overly busy windows: it basically looked like a visual merchandiser had raided a prop store and decided to randomly fill the space with everything he or she could find. What I soon realized, thanks to a speech bubble and a few familiar items on display, was that this was Mulberry's way of celebrating their 40th anniversary and also advertising their celebratory book to mark this occasion. The seemingly random elements of the store windows were actually props from previous displays - all jammed into one giant hotchpotch of a showcase. In a way, Mulberry created a store window version of a scrapbook or collage, culled from past campaigns and displays.

Top image & this image show the two main Mulberry windows in all their glory.

Though what I saw initially made my head spin, once you focused on specific sections - the charm of Mulberry windows past revealed itself...

Merry-go-round horses from last year's SS10 windows.

Sparkly panthers from FW10 wedged between giant apples.

Cute cut-outs of illustrated girls, surrounded by large Scrabble pieces and image collages of teddy bears.

Sparkly scorpions on a giant apple and around pink flowers, which were part of the current SS11 windows.

So pretty - Mulberry balloons!

Of course, the actual Mulberry 40th anniversary book is the real highlight. Conceived and designed by the London-based studio Construct, the book holds an impressive 480 pages, has an embossed full-color cover, is bound in linen, has two silk book markers and comes with a set of stickers and picture cards. Mulberry's history, dating back to 1971 is recounted in the introduction, while the predominant portion is dedicated to captionless photographs of the brand's factory, shops, fashion shows, behind-the-scenes footage and towards the back - obligatory shots of their iconic bags, such as the Bayswater or the Alexa. According to Mulberry's brand director: "Rather than a dry historical round up of the past, the book is a glimpse inside our world, a fly-on-the-wall, warts and all journey through the past two years of the brand's life. It shows our public and private life, the highs and lows and the extraordinary Mulberry 'family' that work so hard to make it all seem so effortless."

Two photos from the book: a hilarious shot of a giant Bayswater balloon trying to hail a cab (top) and stamps used to emboss the Mulberry logo on bags (bottom). Both images via The Guardian.

A look at the beautiful packaging and details of the book, which comes with stickers, picture cards and full-color double page photographs (images via Creative Review UK).

If you love the Mulberry brand or simply have a weakness for beautiful coffee table books, you can pick up your copy (for £55) at select Mulberry stores or online via their website. I'd also suggest visiting their homepage if you wish to see more of the book: a cute video allows you to virtually flick through some of the pages.

The Oxfam Curiosity Shop @ Selfridges (London, UK)

Have you ever wanted to own a red carpet dress as worn by Scarlett Johanssen? Do you adore Colin Firth to the point where you'd just like to snuggle up in his cashmere sweater? Well, fear not... all of the above and more is now possible thanks to Britain's largest charity pop-up store, which opened its doors on April 1 in Selfridges' Ultralounge. Organized by Annie Lennox, the ten day event is in its second year running and includes items donated by celebrities such as Lennox herself, both Colin Firth and his wife Livia, Scarlett Johanssen, Jude Law, Dido, Florence Welsh, Alexa Chung and Elle Macpherson to name a few, as well as donations from designers such as Stella McCartney or Vivienne Westwood. In addition, sought-after samples and vintage pieces, both high-end and more affordable have been pulled from over 700 Oxfam shops in the UK and will be made available in the pop-up store.

Some of the items up for grabs include Annie Lennox' s Alexander McQueen gown (left), Livia Firth's gown (center) and Carey Mulligan's Vionnet dress (right). The first two gowns are available online.

More stuff for sale, including Alexa Chung's Mulberry skirt suit (top left), Alison Goldfrapp's Miu Miu shoes (lower left), Vivienne Westwood dress (center), Vivienne Westwood bag (top right) and Elle Macpherson's Celine tote (lower right).

According to Oxfam: "All the money raised will go to fund Oxfam's women's projects across the world from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to Democratic Republic of Congo, West Africa and South Africa. These projects protect support and empower vulnerable women: campaigning against violence, empowering them to fight HIV and AIDS and offering the poorest girls the chance of education. The projects funded by the shop include a women's tailoring project in Liberia which Laura Bailey recently visited with Oxfam. The money raised from last year's event has helped to transform the lives of countless women already." Last year, more than 30,000 customers visited the shop in just one week, raising an amazing £250,000 for Oxfam’s work.

A huge selection of vintage goods...

I spied cute purses and a pair of Marc Jacobs sandals.

If you're nowhere near London, don't worry: some of the most coveted pieces, including the gown Livia Firth wore to the BAFTA awards to support husband Colin, a stunning Alexander McQueen dress donated by Ms Lennox or a sequined number from Kate Moss are all available online here. There's no excuse not to visit Selfridges if you are in London though, especially considering the great cause. I dropped by the store yesterday and even though I'm usually overwhelmed by vintage shops, the spacious and colorful sales area was easy to browse and had a fantastic selection of both celebrity goods and regular (i.e. less pricier) vintage fair.

The gents had a great choice of ties (right), while the ladies could choose from a multitude of scarves and knits (left).

Loved the colorful displays, which showcased the Michael Kors heels (top right) nicely.

So many clothes, so little wardrobe space... sigh.

In addition to clothing, there was a wonderful selection of scarves, ties, bags, shoes and even trinkets such as an antique Singer sewing machine (already sold... bummer), music records, books and homeware items.

The Singer sewing machine (left) was already taken, but lots of scarves and bags were still available.

Sick of clothes? There's always the record collection or retro radios. I quite fancied the picnic set (right).

Tea for two... or more with the lovely porcelain set (left) and more for the music fans (right).

Of course the biggest draw will be the celebrity donations. Even though I didn't have the funds to buy any of them, I made a point of touching every single Colin Firth item (both he and his wife donated a lot), realized that Dido has excellent taste in clothes (her Hussein Chalayan and Vivienne Westwood coats were very cool and in great condition) and marveled at how varied Annie Lennox's style was (everything from black and simple to bright and printed).

Pre-loved Hussein Chalayan coat from Dido (top left), two dresses from Annie Lennox (lower left), Stella McCartney top (top center), Colin Firth's overcoat (lower center), Dido's Vivienne Westwood jacket (top right) and Annie Lennox' s Shanghai Tang dress (lower right).

The cutest area was undoubtedly the little corner that actually resembled a small vintage shop. It was stocked full of the more glamorous celebrity items, while ScarJo's Dolce & Gabbana dress and Colin Firth's leather jacket fronted the space. Inside, a video showed some of the celebrities describe the items they were donating, while the walls and shelves were adorned with more goodies than I could take in properly.

How cute is this shop-in-shop? And more from Colin in the form of a leather jacket. Scarlett donated this lovely Dolce & Gabbana dress (boy is she tiny...).

Inside the shop... more celebrity gowns and memorabilia. The embellished dress (lower right) is by Stella McCartney.

Shelves filled with accessories (right), while a screen featured video clips (top left) and yet another Annie Lennox find: the iconic wet-look trench.

I might actually have to go back to browse a second time and if you're in London, you'll have the chance to peruse the selection yourself - until April 10. As mentioned before, all others can still check out the online auction. I've provided a small selection of what's currently available below...

From the online auction (starting left): Livia Firth's gown as pictured at the top of the post, Kate Moss' dress, Stella McCartney boots from Beverly Knight, Colin Firth's coat and a beautiful Alexander McQueen gown by Annie Lennox (as pictured at the top of the post).

More auction items (from left): Ashish dress by VV Brown, Termperly kaftan dress, vintage Chanel suit, Emma Thompson's Jaeger dress, Jude Law's Oscar tuxedo, Jane Shepherdson's Camilla Skovgaard heels.

Selfridges Auction Homepage
The Oxfam Curiosity Shop Homepage

London In Bloom - Spring Florals

Mount Street Gardens.

Spring has finally sprung - at least here in London. Temperatures are rising, the days are getting longer and the sun is making more frequent appearances. But of course Spring would be nothing without the beauty of blossoming flowers. And because the eight cherry trees in front of my living room window are a constant reminder of how wonderful this time of the year can be, I've been inspired to hunt down more floral delights in the shape of both the real thing and the fashion world's recurring love affair with the flower print.

Are you embracing floral patterns this season? Or would you prefer to just admire the botanical version instead? I know that there are a few pieces below I wouldn't mind owning...