Slashed and cut, adorned with bows, looping braids or colourful hanging tassels – British label Stefan Cooke brings a distinct spin to vintage Mulberry brands in a new collaboration with the British leather goods band that has been operating in Somerset since the early 1970s.
‘The project felt tactile, and worked for us from the very beginning,’ say Cooke and Burt. ‘The first thing we did was go straight down to the Mulberry factory and begin discussing all the possibilities of what the bags could become and what techniques we could create in the workshop. It felt organic right away.’
Each style – spanning riffs on Mulberry’s ‘Bayswater’, ‘Blossom’ and ‘Alana’ bags – is entirely bespoke, created in Somerset . ‘Working hand in hand with everyone at the factory has been the highlight for us,’ say Cooke and Burt. ‘The level of craft and expertise to come out of this tucked-away factory really blew us away.
Burt and Cooke say their own first memories of Mulberry were from the early 2010s, and the whimsical campaigns by British photographer Tim Walker. ’For us, Mulberry was always aspirational, I think some of the campaigns from 2011 always come to mind – it was fantasy and British luxury,’ says Cooke. ‘Jake’s family live very close to the Mulberry factory and Somerset has been a big part of our lives for a long time.