Christopher Kane Joins Mulberry to Power Ready-to-Wear Relaunch

Mulberry is relaunching women’s ready-to-wear and has hired Christopher Kane to lead the effort. The subversive Scottish designer’s first collection for the British handbag maker will be shown in September and arrive in stores in January 2027.

The Somerset-based label said the apparel push is part of a strategy kicked off by CEO Andrea Baldo last year to revive sales by transforming the firm “from a leather goods brand into a culturally relevant British lifestyle brand.”

“At the core of Mulberry’s turnaround is creativity and the appointment of Christopher signals our intent to evolve the brand in an authentic and culturally relevant way,” Baldo told The Business of Fashion via email.

The executive, who took the reins of the publicly listed company in 2024, hopes a refreshed focus on Britishness, spiked with Kane’s creative spirit, will help draw back customers who flocked to the brand over a decade ago for styles by former designers Emma Hill and later Johnny Coca, as well as attract young career women and fashion-forward Gen Zers.

Baldo, who previously led Ganni and has held top positions at OTB’s Maison Margiela, Marni and Diesel labels, last year identified ready-to-wear and shoes as key to bringing fresh relevance to Mulberry while providing a “halo effect” for the brand’s core bags offering, which is priced from under £600 to slightly above £1,000, a bit higher than labels like Coach and Polène but below British rival Burberry.

The strategy is in some ways a return to the past: for years, Hill and then Coca staged shows during London Fashion Week, generating a cool-Brit aura around the brand and its hit Bayswater and Alexa bags (though, unlike Kane, both designers were leather goods specialists).

Mulberry has struggled to regain its footing since the pandemic, with sales down 20 percent last year to £120.5 million ($161.3 million), a third below its 2018 peak.

“Progress isn’t linear, but we are moving in the right direction and gaining momentum,” Baldo said.

Kane’s appointment brings the Central Saint Martins graduate back into the spotlight. The designer’s namesake label — with its sexy, twisted styles crafted out of materials ranging from lace to rubber — was for years a key attraction at London Fashion Week and won backing from Kering before splitting with the group in 2018 and eventually folding in 2023.

Kane also served as creative director of Versace diffusion line Versus from 2009 to 2012. In 2024, he designed a hit collection for London-based Self Portrait.

Mulberry is expected to report financial results in July.

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