Mulberry turns 40

“What I love doing is making gorgeous things that women want.”

Mulberry creative director Emma Hill

 That’s right, the forever-famous brand Mulberry will be celebrating its 40^th birthday later on this year, much to the public’s delight. So how has this high end luxury brand defied the current recession?

Mulberry was born in the early 1970’s in a garage in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, and has remained the public’s favourite for all these years after. Founder, Roger Saul, set up the company with the £500 he inherited on his 21^st birthday. Since then, this small-scale company has grown over the years to produce alluring and luxurious bags for all to enjoy.

However, it is no secret that these little ‘bags of fun’ come at a price. With a typical price tag for a Mulberry handbag starting at a costly £600, it’s a surprise sales haven’t been dented considering the current recession. Yet in spite of this, Mulberry sales have in fact risen with pre-tax profits for the brand jumping by 207% from £1.5m to £4.7m.

Beating competition such as Burberry, Pringle of Scotland and Victoria Beckham in winning designer brand of the year in 2010, Mulberry has since gone on to thrive in all of its endeavors. Designer, Emma Hill, being none other than accountable.

Designer handbags have historically been of French or Italian heritage, though Mulberry proudly celebrates its Englishness. What is intelligent about the brand is that the Britishness it embraces is not a twee, traditional version, instead one that embraces contradictions and quirks. Mulberry invests its money and employees in fashion week parties that have become most iconic in the industry. This association with fun has had a colossal affect on how consumers perceive the bags, leaving sales at a constant all time high – much like the guests at such parties.

The Alexa, which is of course named after and inspired by modern British fashion icon, Alexa Chung, has been causing a stir since its launch at Spring/Summer 2010 Fashion Week. Being one of the “celebrities” of the Mulberry world in having a named bag, T.V presenter Chung is responsible for the Bayswater bag, a kind of hybrid of a traditional English doctor’s satchel.  All Mulberry bags come in different shapes and sizes to appeal to a variety of customers. Tiny, doll-sized Alexa bags have been seen on the dance floors of Paris, larger ones stuffed with baby essentials among the school-run mums. The Alexa has made the biggest impact in comparison to that of any other Mulberry bag to date.

It seems the Mulberry customer is buying the bag for their inherent value and usability – not just for its name.  And these beauties aren’t just to be enjoyed by woman. 2010 saw ‘man bags’ flying off the shelves, the Mulberry brand being no exception. With a range of messenger bags, brief cases, gym bags and holdall’s on sale for men, Mulberry has dramatically expanded its sales.

Going that one step further than most bag brands, it is celebrating its success in launching a new womenswear range of clothing, equally as high end as the bags. Not only are quirky dresses and jackets available, but women’s best friend to the bag… shoes! Now every woman can have her accessories matching from hand to toe… simply idyllic.

So Mulberry has avoided the recession with credit cards overpowering the credit crunch. Perhaps being one of the last remaining English indulgence brands out there is responsible for such success? Lets look forward to the new and exciting launches this year in collaboration with its 40^th Birthday bash!  

Grazia Review

Secret Diary of a Call Girl ****
Final Series

“Sexy secrets. Naughty boys. Wriggles, giggles and a touch of class. It’s been a great ride, now comes the climax..”

Belle is back and she’s raunchier than ever. Hitting our screens in the 4^th and final edition of the forever-popular T.V series, Billie Piper shares with us yet more secrets on Belle’s life as a high-class call girl working in London.

ITV2’s hooker-with-a-heart drama, written by Lucy Prebble, will reach its climax on March 22 at 9pm.

Based on the book “The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl” the series finale draws to a close the witty diary entries of the woman herself, Belle de Jour, and we see the decision Belle makes between love and the love of her career.

To her friends she is Hannah, a legal secretary clocking in regular hours. To her clients, she is Belle, the answer to all their fantasies. Her challenge is to keep her two lives separate. Inevitably they begin to blur..

This time it’s not all seduction and sex, but the story of Belles loved ones, and their reaction to her lifestyle. Actor Iddo Goldberg who plays Ben, the best friend that is ultimately in love with a high-class prostitute, finally gets his wish to be with Hannah, but it doesn’t all run as smoothly as he’d hoped. With Stephanie in jail for her corrupt finances, Belle finds herself being an - albeit reluctant - Madam, whilst also becoming the unlikely guardian of Stephanie’s innocent 19 year old daughter, Poppy.

New character, Poppy, played by Lily James, pushes Ben and Hannah’s relationship to breaking point. Obsessed with Ben, she finds ways to manipulate herself into situations with him. Friction soon arises as the cracks in Hannah and Ben’s relationship become harder to fix. Hannah is addicted to her work, as Ben becomes less addicted to Hannah.

Furthermore, Belle’s ability to separate work from pleasure is tested when she meets an alluring and dangerous new client, Harry. Appealing to her wilder side, she goes beyond her job as an escort, adding to her vulnerability when the two men finally collide with each other.

A series of misunderstandings with loyal, loving Ben, the unraveling and corruption of ‘good girl’ Poppy, and the introduction of dangerous and alluring vice cop Harry, all force Belle to question who she really is and what she wants her future to be.

The season finale is that of a teary one, as all loose ends become tied up and we see just what future the London call girl chooses. Swiftly dealt with is the matter of Stephanie, played by actress Cherie Lunghi, who is cleared of solicitation by a Judge who, we are shown, she’s been soliciting after hours. Stephanie takes back her daughter, Poppy, leaving Hannah and Ben alone in their relationship for the very first time. Harry wants to take Belle of Ben’s hands, but whose hand does Belle want to hold?

It’s not long before Ben forces Hannah to choose between him and the job that she loves, unaware Harry lies somewhere within the mix. Accompanied by Adele’s heart felt hit single ‘Someone like you’ viewers witness an emotional and dramatic closing scene to what has been ITV2’s sexiest series to date.

Playdays

I don’t have a maternal bone in my body. Possibly a little harsh, and a little untrue.

I have a maternal bone; it’s just not very big? Slightly more accurate, yet I still sound like a demon.

I guess what I’m trying to say is, I like kids, I just don’t LOVE them. I’m not the girl cooing over the pram, pulling faces and talking in that cutesy voice in order to try and get a reaction from a 2 week old baby. When asked to hold a baby, more often than not, it will be at arms length, as if I’d just been passed a muddy football. Perhaps I just don’t trust myself.

That’s not to say I don’t enjoy my job as a play worker for a local afterschool/holiday club. In fact, since working there I’ve had the opportunity to see many a 5 year old and their wonderful ways of playing. It’s easy to forget just how naïve and innocent you are at such an age, and how in reality something that doesn’t even matter seems like the biggest thing in the world.

It brings back memories of the hours I used to spend in the garden collecting cheesey bobs (yes, that IS what they’re called) or insisting on styling the babysitters hair when playing hairdressers – no matter how much pain would be inflicted on her, and the hours it would take for her to be free of my ‘fabulous’ creation.

That being said, a child’s intuition is usually right. When referred to as “rubbish” when helping with the lego, it typically means you need more practise at piecing those multi-coloured bricks together. A task that for a 21 year old, you’d think would be a breeze.. apparently not.

As a teacher you can go from being the class favourite to the devil in a matter of seconds, depending on how many sweets you have in your hand, or how long you’re prepared to carry numerous children on your shoulders for. Note to self, beating their famous skipping score does not bode well with a tired and irritable little girl! But you know you’ve done a good job when there’s hugs all round and smiley, not tearful faces.

I’ve always found it difficult to sugar coat in regards to those niggling children’s questions you know you’ll have to face one day. I’m sorry but the birds and the bees don’t work for me. Not to worry though, at no point would I dare consider informing them of the actual scenario. When it comes to “where do babies come from?” my answer always remains the same, “Ask your dad.”

However, when asked a question from the adult side of the spectrum such as “do you want kids?” I never quite know what to say, and never quite know why. If I’m honest, I’m not a fan of kids being places they shouldn’t. A recent experience of my dad cheering for the team at a rugby match and making the baby in front cry, didn’t move me. I mean, who takes a child that’s been on earth only a year to an environment full of loud, merry, cheering supporters in a stadium holding just over 50,000 people? Exactly.

I’ve never looked in the mirror and thought, ‘you look like a mum,’ but I have looked and thought, there was a moment you thought you never could be a mum. And that’s a scary thought to have. At that point, every pram and every child’s cry becomes an obsession, bringing the upturned feeling in your stomach you get when dread is implanted into your body. When you think you can’t have something, you always want it ten times more. I suppose that’s our child psyche coming back out to play. I can’t really imagine life without kids, I just think it’s a ridiculous question to ask someone who’s yet to graduate.

Lets be honest I know that if I were to be deluded enough to inflict motherhood on some poor unbeknown child, I know just how many, their sexes, how far apart in years they would be and both their names. Although as my brother often states: “you need to find a man first!”

SO little terrors, in order to make a better play worker and be rewarded with smiles, not tears:

I promise not to hold you like a football.

I promise to brush up on my lego skills.

And I promise to keep the hairstyle you’ve just created with my locks for at least an hour afterwards – despite the pain deconstructing this tangled mess will bring.

As for the skipping, I can’t promise not to jump one higher.. but I’ll be sure to tell you it was one lower than yours. After all, if you can't say something nice - don't say anything at all!!

Happy playdays