Handbag aficionados, rejoice: the private archive of Mulberry founder Roger Saul will be auctioned next week.
Celebrating over 50 years of one of the UK’s most famous design brands, the collection includes rare handbags, never-before-seen design samples, personal memorabilia, as well as pieces from across women’s clothing, home accessories and watches.
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The archive will be auctioned at Dreweatts, London, on Wednesday 7 August.
Highlights include include a boucle wool jacket worn by Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet in a photoshoot, as well as a 1975 chestnut girth grain leather holdall which later became the inspiration for ‘The Gisele’ – the bag named in honour of the Brazilian supermodel after she carried it in a 2001 fashion show. The piece kickstarted the label’s reputation as the creator of the decade’s most coveted ‘It’ bags.
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Asked about his favourite pieces from the auction, Saul told Spear’s he prizes the collection of Mulberry ‘history boards’ that were put together for the brand’s 25th anniversary in 1996.
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‘I put together press cuttings, brochures and artwork that tell the story of how we grew from our first snakeskin choker to a global brand,’ he explained. ‘That year we opened the Charlton House hotel and restaurant and got a Michelin star in our first year; launched on The AIM stock market; and appeared on BBC Top Gear… So it’s full of nostalgia.’
The growth of Mulberry
Following a stint as a trainee buyer for menswear designer and retailer John Michael, Saul founded Mulberry in 1971 at his kitchen table in Somerset with a £500 investment from his mother. It was a family enterprise: his artist sister designed the brand’s now world-famous logo.
The first major success was a snakeskin choker sold to Biba, which led to rapid business growth. Soon, Mulberry was stocked in Brown’s, Liberty and Harrods, and Saul sold his designs to big names like Burberry and Ralph Lauren.
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His first handbags came in the form of clutches designed for Stirling Cooper and Hardy Amies. By the end of the 1970s, Mulberry had exploded and was enjoying international sales. The next decade brought the opening of the first Mulberry shop on Paris’ Place de Victoire, which led to the creation of Mulberry franchises across Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong. Saul parted ways with the company in 2002.
Handbags: more than an accessory
Although the handbag market has fluctuated slightly over the last 12 months, there is an overall upwards trend. Meg Randell, the European and UK head of designer handbags and fashion at Bonhams, noted global registrants for handbag auctions have increased by an average of 120 per cent year-on-year. The average price achieved has increased by 154 per cent.
For Saul, the legacy of the brand plays a strong part in attracting buyers, whom he anticipates will be 'both young and mature'. He added: 'I know there are a lot of women out there who loved, collected and coveted Mulberry through the years, I also know that their daughters often would "borrow" their mother’s handbags. Of which I am very proud!
'With Mulberry we somehow managed to transcend that momentary fashion affair to a long term relationship with so many of our customers.'
