Mulberry Backs Out Of LFW 2014

Bruno Guillon, Lana Del Rey and Emma Hill

Mulberry was rocked this summer when it was announced that Emma Hill would be quitting her position as creative director for the British handbag specialist. After creating the Alexa and Del Rey bags which proved to be a huge success, questions were asked about her departure, it was announced that she left after "disagreements with management over creative and operational strategy". For the six years whilst Hill was the the helm of Mulberry, the houses popularity greatly increased and they filled the whimsical, girly gap left by Luella. Hill also introduced entry-level price points which appealed to the younger Mulberry women with less cash to burn, this seems to be where the differences begun. In 2012 Bruno Guillon (previously of Hermes) was appointed chief executive of Mulberry and his sole intention seems to be to re-emphasise the luxury nature of Mulberry. For example in autumn 2012 oversaw a substantial increase in Mulberry's prices across the board.

It seems Mulberry's troubles don't stop there. It was announced today that Mulberry will be backing out of Februarys Fashion Week, Mulberry was always one of the most anticipated shows with an a list packed front row so to see it go is sad. It seems that Mulberry is having trouble filling its creative director vacancy after Emma Hill left in June, rumoured successors have ranged from Erdem to Mary Katrantzou. Its been announced however that Mulberry will still feature in the LFW schedule but we'll have to wait till nearer the time for more info!

LFW starts 13th - 17th February.

London Fashion Week SS14 Highlights

It doesn’t even feel that long ago since February’s fashion week, yet SS14 LFW is almost over! Concluding today with shows from Simone Rocha, Fashion East and Meadham Kirchhoff among others it’s safe to say its been a very exciting week for fashion. From the looks of things summer 2014 will be all about pastels and femininity and a hell of a lot of white. 2014 will be the summer of the LWD (little white dress FYI).

With over 120 designers exhibiting their work we couldn’t possibly go over every collection shown over the last couple of days so here I’ve rounded up just a few of my personal faves!

Christopher Kane
Over the years Kane has established himself as one of Britain’s finest designers outdoing himself season after season and SS14 was no different. Kane took to studying flowers under a microscope for his collection, making flowers new and exciting isn’t an easy task. Dresses had large petal shape cut outs traced in shiny patent on pastel dresses. The shapes were clean, clinical and feminine. Kane also paid tribute to the trophy sweat, which doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, some with graphic botanical related prints and another that stood out to me with a cut out shoulder and beautiful jeweled embellishment around the shoulder. Moreover he’s announced he’ll be opening his first store, is there any stopping this man?

Burberry Prorsum
Christopher Bailey always pulls out all the stops to make Burberry one of the most memorable shows of fashion week. The star-studded frow including Anna Wintour, Sienna Miller, Alexa Chung and Harry Styles didn’t take away from the stunning clothes. With sheer lace skirts and pretty candy pastels the collection somewhat reminded me of Louis Vuitton’s 2012 collection. With beautiful lilac spring coats and loose trenches the show was a resounding success for Burberry. Models were showered with rose petals for one of the most beautiful finales of the week.

Erdem
Erdem's collections are almost instantly recognizable thanks to his romantic silhouettes and light florals. This season the romance remained but the colourful florals were gone. Erdems monochromatic show was a sure fire standout of the week. The intricate lace and florals were still there only in a strict palette of black and white, this collection seemed more focused on textural exploration than pretty prints. The knee length woven and sheer panel coat was to die for. Erdem chose this collection to push his own personal boundaries and leaving his comfort zone, and it really worked.  What will Erdem do next?

Simone Rocha
Newgen winner Simone Rocha (daughter of John) has been gradually building herself in the fashion industry. Still considered a relatively new designer her past collections have received rave reviews and been spotted on stars from Alexa Chung to Chloe Moretz. Rocha shows no signs of slowing down, as she presented another romantically edgy collection this morning. Although each garment was feminine and light, Rocha added a punk edge with green mohawks, masculine lace ups and beautiful pearl hold ups. Rocha experimented with sharper silhouettes, intricate detailing and different textures, this collections is a sign her works maturing and she’s showing no signs of disappearing any time soon, expect a lot more from her.