Mulberry Push

A top leather-goods brand sets up shop in the U.S

November 3, 2006—A cult following in the U.K., blockbuster sales at Bergdorf's and Barneys, a BFC Accessories Designer of the Year win for design director Stuart Vevers—it's been a pretty good few years for Mulberry. (All the more remarkable considering the company was on the verge of bankruptcy in 2000.) Now the resurgent British purveyor of leather goods is set to open its first stand-alone U.S. store in New York's West Village, which will be closely followed by outposts in L.A. and Atlantic City. In addition to carrying its line of women's and men's leather goods and accessories (like those at left), the new shop will also offer the company's Bespoke Bag Service, which is currently available only in the U.K. and allows customers to mix and match colors and materials (ostrich and python are apparently favorites). And while a certain brand of leather goods has always been plentiful in the neighborhood, this might be the first retail space to qualify as a leather good itself. London-based design firm Four IV has integrated the company's signature material into the architecture, with shelves covered in leather and columns swathed in oxblood hide.
Opens November 15 at 387 Bleecker St., NYC, www.mulberry.com.