fashionbriefs
9:12in productionCh. 1 · 1971: A Workshop, Not a Label/ 9:12 · ceiling 15 min
Accessories

Mulberry Group

Roger Saul · 1971

Mulberry didn’t invent the luxury handbag—it weaponised the poacher’s bag against fashion’s fluff.

Mulberry Group was founded in 1971 by Roger Saul and his mother Joan as a British leather goods company. It built its reputation on functional poacher bags—the binocular and dispatch bags—rooted in rural utility rather than urban display. Production began in Somerset in 1973 and remains anchored there for core designer leather goods, while men’s bags and small leather goods are made in Turkey and China respectively. An apprenticeship programme launched in 2006 trains local youths for Somerset factory roles, with job offers extended to graduates. Mulberry’s strength lies in its material honesty and regional continuity; its compromise is the fragmentation of its making across geographies and standards.

AccessoriesCraftBritainLuxuryCraft across the network →
Chapters & takeaways4
  1. 0:58
    1971: A Workshop, Not a Label

    Mulberry began as a mother-and-son leather workshop—not a fashion house, but a maker of tools for country life.

  2. 2:09
    Poacher Bags, Not Purse Bags

    The binocular and dispatch bags were functional first—designed for carrying optics and documents across fields, not fitting into trend cycles.

  3. 3:36
    Somerset First, Then Everywhere Else

    Chilcompton became a production anchor—and later, an apprenticeship pipeline—keeping craft local despite global manufacturing splits.

  4. 5:20
    Shared Factories, Separate Identities

    Men’s bags made in shared Turkish factories with Dunhill and Givenchy reveal Mulberry’s operational pragmatism, not stylistic alignment.

Worth your time?

Yes. Wear the whole thing.

4/ 5
What works
  • it establishes Britishness through function, not folklore
  • it sustains Somerset-based craft while scaling globally
  • it names its origins plainly—no mythmaking, no invented heritage
What does not
  • it does not unify its production ethos across all lines
  • it does not position itself as a full fashion house—garments, tailoring, footwear are absent
  • it does not claim innovation in textile science or construction technique
Wear it if
  • people who trust provenance over packaging
  • those who wear leather until it tells a story, not until it trends
Skip it if
  • those seeking seasonal reinvention
  • those who equate luxury with exclusivity codes or celebrity endorsement
The written brief1 min read

What the garment is and where it came from

A leather poacher bag, born in 1971 from Roger Saul and Joan Saul’s workshop, modelled on working-country forms: the binocular bag and dispatch bag.

How it works, in terms someone would actually use

The binocular and dispatch bags are structured for rural utility: rigid leather, wide straps, deep compartments. They carry field gear, not laptops or tablets.

What it gets right

It anchors luxury in material honesty—vegetable-tanned leather, visible stitching, unlined interiors—and regional continuity, from Chilcompton in 1973 to The Rookery today.

What it does not

It does not scale intimacy. The Somerset-made pieces retain craft focus; the Turkish- and Chinese-made lines trade provenance for volume and cost control.

What it changed

It repositioned British leatherwork from saddlery and luggage into lifestyle accessories with narrative weight.

Who it is for, and who it is not

It is for people who value origin over ornament, and durability over disposability. It is not for those who prioritise global brand uniformity or seasonal novelty.

Is it worth your time

Yes—if you need a bag that signals British countryside pragmatism, not cosmopolitan polish.

Same rail · Accessories4 of 25
9:29
Love bracelet (Cartier)The Love bracelet is not jewellery you put on. It is jewellery you submit to. It locks. It commits. It demands a second party — not just as wearer, but as keeper of the key.
11:29
Colette (boutique)1997Colette was a Parisian concept boutique founded in 1997. It closed in December 2017. It sold high fashion, streetwear, and accessories. It hosted exhibitions, ran a bookshop, and operated a water bar with over 100 bottled water brands. It launched early collections by Jeremy Scott, Raf Simons, Proenza Schouler, Rodarte, Mary Katrantzou, Sacai, Simone Rocha, Christopher Kane, and Olympia Le Tan. In 2016, it generated €32 million in sales, 25% online. Forbes named it 'the trendiest store in the world' in December 2005. Esquire compared it to Kith, Bergdorf Goodman, and Opening Ceremony.
9:16
Fashion blogFashion blog is a digital publishing format covering the fashion industry, clothing, and lifestyle topics. It functions as a disruptive, democratizing force in fashion media, delivering real-time feedback, influencing design and marketing, and reshaping industry power dynamics by enabling broad public participation and challenging traditional gatekeepers like editors and magazines.
11:01
Baguette (bag)The Baguette is a small, compact handbag designed by Silvia Venturini Fendi for Fendi in 1997. It was conceived as a streamlined, short-strap bag adaptable across looks, colors, and textures while retaining a consistent aesthetic — contrasting with large totes then popular. Fendi lent Baguettes as props to Sex and the City, becoming the first luxury house to lend a piece to costume designer Patricia Field; Carrie Bradshaw’s on-screen identification of it as a 'Baguette' during a mugging scene and Sarah Jessica Parker’s attribution of the show’s and character’s establishment to it underscore its cultural impact, which culminated in LVMH’s 1999 acquisition of Fendi. In 2012, Fendi celebrated the bag’s 15th anniversary with an exhibition at Colette in Paris.
Up next in Fashion

New Romantic

1979 · 8:36

A dress code enforced by a doorman built a movement — and killed it when the door opened too wide.

Play nextBack to Accessories
8:36