SimplyAbuDhabi XII

M ulberry was established in 1971 in the heart of the bucolic British county of Somerset. The first collection consisted of plaited belts and chokers – the accessories du jour back in the seventies. It has since established a reputation for creating beautiful leather products from carefully chosen and exquisite leathers. The 1975 ‘Hunting, Shooting, Fishing’ collection brought Mulberry to the attention of the fashion world and the global love affair with Mulberry began. The brand pioneered the desire for ‘Le Style Anglais’ – an English style that owed nothing to an idea of staid, hard-edged or unyielding Britishness. This was fashion with a softer touch: relaxed confidence loaded with English references, understated, and as such, totally modern. Each bag is finely crafted by artisans, combining creativity, imagination and innovation. The Mulberry bags frequently sweep the fashion world into a frenzy each time a new one is released. This season, Mulberry is celebrating its quirky English eccentricity with an advertising campaign fronted by the ubiquitous Ms Delevigne. To highlight the British idiosyncrasies, she is accompanied by a parliament of owls perched on furniture, the end of shoes, on shoulders and in handbags. Flagship factory The Rookery opened in the small town of Chilcompton in Somerset, England in 1989 and became the main manufacturing base. Mulberry represents a rare example of a British luxury brand continually investing in the production of leather goods in the UK. The company will open a second Somerset factory will open later this year. 1 8 1 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I