Mulberry fashion a week of new beginnings

Mulberry fashion a week of new beginnings


Somerset fashion powerhouse Mulberry and designer Alice Temperley will hope to steal the show at London Fashion Week in the coming days, which began with a flash of theatrical fanfare on Friday.

Mulberry will attempt to break from its successful Bayswater and Alexa lines of past years when it debuts a new range tomorrow.

Currently in the process of building a new factory in Bridgwater, Mulberry’s spiritual home is still Chilcompton in Somerset, where the new work of creative director Emma Hill will be pieced together. She hopes Tuesday’s show will freshen up a range that has driven Mulberry to new heights in recent years.

She said: “Mulberry is really starting to find a home in locations worldwide – we have a number of exciting store openings, including a new flagship store opening in Singapore and great locations in the US.

“We’re also expanding our ability to manufacture in the UK by opening a new factory in Somerset next year. This is in addition to the recently completed expansion of our current factory location. We're well and truly gearing up for our next show at London Fashion Week – seeing in another season filled with exciting new product, colour and personality.”

Meanwhile Alice Temperley, brought up at her father Julian’s cider farm near Kingsbury Episcopi, will be hoping to build on the success of the recent launch of her new range, Somerset.
Inspired by the countryside where she grew up, it has quickly become John Lewis’ biggest selling fashion brand in the days since the launch. Her designs will be exhibited at 4pm tomorrow.

Yesterday, the first catwalk show of the event was Antoni & Alison, which saw the design duo showcase their spring/summer 2013 designs.

Antoni Burakowski said he and Alison Roberts had gone back to basics with the collection, made up of floaty dresses with colourful and striking patterns on them.

Roberts summed up their designs as “chic and beautiful and arty”.

The show was introduced with a theatrical fanfare from a brass band, with the 24th Invicta Rifles continuing to play as the models sashayed down the runway.

The event, which runs until Tuesday, will see top designers from Britain and all over the world display their collections.

Highlights today are expected to include Emilia Wickstead, Felder Felder and PPQ, with Burberry, Matthew Williamson and the Vivienne Westwood Red Label to come on later days.

Libby Banks, editor of fashion website mydaily.co.uk, said she expected the success of the Olympics and Paralympics to translate to fashion with British designers becoming bolder and more experimental than ever.

She said: “Britishness is cool again, I think we have got a new confidence.

“After the summer that we’ve had, I expect that designers will channel it into their work, and we’ll see a celebration of Britishness and also a confidence to do something completely different and new.”

British designer Caroline Charles also showed her collection on the Courtyard Show Space catwalk at main venue Somerset House.

Her beachwear designs were a riot of colour with tropical prints and jazzy patterns inspired by Latin America.

They contrasted with white floaty summer dresses and monochrome formal wear which was also shown.

Caroline Rush, chief executive of the British Fashion Council which organises London Fashion Week, said the event had got off to a ``fantastic'' start.

She said: “It’s been a really strong start, it’s always a little bit of a whirlwind on the first day but I think there’s a real buzz out there and a lot of excitement.”

Asked what sets London apart from the other big fashion weeks – Paris, New York and Milan – she said: “We have a real breadth of talent here that the others don’t have.

“We have great brands, we have incredible iconic designers, and we also have this real energy from our young and emerging designers, and it’s that creativity and the innovation that comes out of London that sets us apart.”

Ms Rush said she expected the biggest shows to be Burberry, Mulberry and milliner Philip Treacy, who is returning to London to do a catwalk show after more than a decade away.

Christopher Kane, Jonathan Saunders, Erdem and Roksanda Ilincic are also likely to be highlights, she said.

She said of them: “They are a real group of strong, young businesses that have got an opportunity to be our brands of the future.

“London Fashion Week provides an incredible platform as we have a global audience, live streaming shows to hundreds of thousands of people.”

Ms Rush said the UK fashion industry provides a £21 billion direct contribution to the economy every year and employs more than 800,000 people.

She added: “I think people look at Fashion Week and they see the glamour and excitement but don’t really put in into the context of driving this huge industry that has a huge impact on the economy.

“The more we put into events like London Fashion Week and the more we put into supporting homegrown design and businesses, the more that’s only going to continue to grow.”

Maria Grachvogel also showed at Somerset House, showcasing her typical sleek, modern look.

The collection was full of dresses and jumpsuits in white, beige and taupe sheer, floaty fabrics, while there was also some brighter colour with green, yellow and pink pieces.

Elsewhere, celebrities including Kelly Brook and Radio 1 presenter Jameela Jamil attended the Zoe Jordan catwalk show at Mercer Street Studios in Covent Garden.