LONDON — British brand Mulberry is fast acquiring an Italian accent with the appointment last week of Andrea Baldo as chief executive officer, and a new clothing, accessories and footwear collaboration with the Milan-based brand Eleventy.
The capsule, which launches Monday, offers a fusion of both brands’ styles, with a focus on “responsible craft, quality and timeless design,” according to the brands.
It’s also the first time that Mulberry has dabbled in clothing after winding down its ready-to-wear and footwear licenses in 2020, during the pandemic. Last year, it flirted with footwear once again — and looked to reach a new and younger audience — via a collaboration with Axel Arigato.
Mulberry had produced rtw and footwear collections under license with Onward Luxury Group as part of a previous (and failed) push to become a 360-degree lifestyle brand.
The new collaboration consists of casual clothing pieces such as relaxed blazers, gilets, sweatshirts and jogging bottoms with leather accents nodding to Mulberry’s heritage and core expertise.
In turn, the Mulberry bags feature panels of Eleventy’s signature gray flannel. There are reimagined versions of Mulberry’s Piccadilly, Chiltern backpack and Belgrave messenger bags and along with leather accessories including a notebook cover.
As part of Mulberry’s Made to Last project and approach to responsible leather sourcing, the leather used in the collaboration is carbon-neutral, achieved through offsetting with the World Land Trust.
In addition, the leather is sourced from an environmentally accredited tannery with which Mulberry has partnered over the past 10 years. All of the leather goods have been made at Mulberry’s carbon-neutral factories in Somerset, England.
Eleventy said it has worked with certified cotton and flannel, and responsibly sourced wool.
The collaboration will launch globally in Mulberry and Eleventy stores, and at both brands’ Harrods concessions, as well as online, on Monday. Prices range from $160 to $2,225.
As reported, Mulberry first embarked on a sustainability program under its most recent CEO, Thierry Andretta. In 2021, the company launched its Made to Last Manifesto, which outlined the company’s commitment to becoming regenerative and circular across every aspect of its business.
In 2022, Mulberry unveiled its first carbon-neutral collection, Lily Zero. The range was fully carbon neutral from field to shop floor and all bags were created in Mulberry’s Somerset factories with leather from a tannery in Germany that measures, reduces and offsets its carbon emissions.
