Mulberry Handbags and Purses (Page 2)

Mulbery Albert Leather Holdall, $1450 via Mr. Porter

I know what you guys are thinking. It wasn’t all that long ago that we featured another Mulberry holdall for Man Bag Monday and we try to keep things diverse around here, but when a single brand is performing so well, it’s hard to spread the praise around. So for this week, we bring you the Mulberry Albert Leather Holdall, which is as sophisticated as it is luxurious.

Mulberry Carter Camera Bag, $1220 via Matches

Mulberry just kind of has a knack, you know? Somehow, the brand’s creative minds know how to take traditional, classic bags and tweak them just enough to make them covetable, young and modern. I honestly have no idea how they do it, but after a few seasons of contemplation, I’ve come to the conclusion that the brand’s sense of visual editing is among the best in the business.

The Mulberry Carter Camera Bag bears that out, and I’ve seen a few fashion outlets already decide that the design is the brand’s new Alexa. I’m not ready to make that designation until we see how consumers start to react at the cash register, but I will say this: When I first saw this bag being worn (in dove grey with dark silver hardware) by Kate Bosworth, I was pretty sure it was Chanel. That’s not faint praise.

Mulberry Clipper Leather Holdall, $1495 via Mr. Porter

Every time I see the Mulberry Clipper Leather Holdall, I sigh a little bit. It’s both a happy and a sad sigh – happy because the bag is both functional and simply gorgeous, sad because I don’t have one in my closet right now. And if I did, I think I’d probably take it out to pet it every now and then, even if I weren’t planning on a weekend away.

But with a travel bag like this, I think I’d be motivated to take more trips, which is why I’ve chosen it for the week’s Man Bag Monday. That’s right, Mulberry technically categorizes this weekender as a bag for its male customers, but I think it’s clearly unisex. And because I’m the one with the blog-posting capabilities, what I say, goes around here.

Kate Middleton carries the Mulberry Polly Push Lock Satchel and Anya Hindmarch Fan Straw Clutch

These days, the best way for a piece of clothing to become scarce is for Kate Middleton (although that’s probably not her last name anymore, right?) to wear it publically. The Internet has been reveling in a deluge of the Duchess’s outfits while she’s touring Canada with Prince William, and as always, she’s been careful to choose pieces that both recognize her British roots and acknowledge the theme of whatever event she’s attending at the moment. Naturally, what we’re interested in are her accessories, and all of Kate’s notable bags thus far have been British: the Mulberry Polly Push Lock Satchel and the Anya Hindmarch Fan Straw Clutch.

Via Fashionista.com, we get a first look at the Mulberry Fall 2011 ad campaign, shot by Tim Walker and starring Julia Saner. I always find ad campaigns fascinating because they give us a more artistic look into how a designer views a collection than a moving runway show sometimes allows, and these photos are an excellent example of that insight.

With oversized animals and giant cracked eggs and tree branches everywhere, the visual impact of the campaign might be best described as a British Heritage acid trip. Oddly, that might also be the perfect way to describe the Mulberry aesthetic; the brand specializes in taking what’s expected of a London leather goods label and twisting it until it appeals to a younger, edgier audience. Check out the entire campaign after the jump.

Mulberry Polly Push Tote, $1400 via Net-a-Porter. Mulberry Polly Push Satchel, $1300 via Net-a-Porter.

I’m going to let you guys in on a little secret that you’ve probably already figured out about me, if you’re a regular reader: I was never a prep. Sure, I dabbled in it in middle school when we all went through the phase where we tried our damnedest to look like everyone else, but by age 13 I was putting ill-advised burgundy streaks in my hair and listening to punk. If you know me, you know that I never really grew out of the “putting ill-advised things in my hair” phase.

But because trends are endlessly shifting and the lines between “looks” are getting blurrier by the day, I no longer feel the kind of automatic resistance to preppy, classic designs like the Mulberry Polly Push Bags that I likely would have felt a few years ago. As long as I could get one that’s not brown, that is. A distaste for brown is another thing that I’ve yet to outgrow.

Every year, resort collections spring up at the beginning of summer like an oasis in the dessert. The fashion industry sometimes seems to come to a near-grinding halt during the warmer months while industry heavyweights are off sunning themselves in St. Barths, but the unorganized and sporadic resort show season seems to send us a new collection every time we begin to think that perhaps we’ll never write another interesting post again.

This time, Mulberry Resort 2012 is one of our saviors, and they’ve actually released stock images of their bags, which is something of a resort rarity. Most brands save their big reveals for the full spring and fall collections, but this mid-season group offers several covetable bags, particularly the ivory faux python Alexa and the green-and-black leopard tote, which would be perfect for weekend shopping. More pictures after the jump.