Mulberry reveals Johnny Coca’s debut collection at London Fashion Week

London - Mulberry for a number of seasons was the talk of day 3 at London Fashion Week, then the British fashion label took a little hiatus, but it seems that new creative director Johnny Coca has put the brand back into the spotlight.

Before the show, everyone was talking about Mulberry, asking could Coca return the brand to glory, what will the ‘it’ bag be, and what would the afterparty be like. Well, it seems that Coca, who was previously in charge of handbags at Céline, can create just as much buzz as Emma Hill with everyone raving about the ‘Clifton’, a classic over-the-shoulder handbag with chain strap that comes in a number of colourways including green, black, red, and tan, with prices starting at 595 pounds.

The Guildhall was also a grand setting for the Mulberry reboot, where the show notes cited Shakespeare and the “playwright’s capacity to replicate all echelons of society; from the noble to the nobody, the royal to the rebel” as inspiration. Coca also added that his greatest influence was the diversity and contrast on the streets of London and that contradiction was the key theme for the collection with “sharp tailoring nestled against acute femininity”.

Coca certainly made a bold entrance, he’s reintroduced a whole new Mulberry look, gone are the heritage details and quaint satchel-like bags, and instead there’s an edge about the accessories with handbags featuring chains and embellished with press studs usually seen on a biker jacket. There were also new shapes, with an oversized triangular tote catching editors eyes.

The biggest change has to be the reintroduction of the old Mulberry logo from the 1970s, the iconic tree logo has been rebranded into a sophistication gold font.

Mulberry returns to the London Fashion Week catwalk

Other highlights from the collection included chunky Mary Janes and slingback pumps, which also feature the new press stud detailing, as well as the outerwear that included woollen military cape coats, shaggy Mongolians and leather coats, and everyone seemed to be a fan of the structured colour palette of black, dark navy and khaki green set against delicate cream, pink and burgundy hues.

Overall the feeling was that Mulberry has been reimagined as cooler and edgier, and with the lower price points, bags priced between 500 and 900 pounds, it is hoped that the new-look will appeal to more consumers.

An exclusive capsule collection of Coca’s first designs will be available online and in store from April, with all pieces in the early release featuring the press stud detailing as seen on the catwalk, and will include the new ‘Clifton’ bag.

Images: Mulberry AW16