For Jake Burt and Stefan Cooke – partners in both life and business – this summer was one they will never forget. Their label, Stefan Cooke, embarked on a landmark collaboration with accessories juggernaut Mulberry, agreeing to reconstruct 27 bags made from pre-loved handbags for Mulberry’s circularity programme, the Mulberry Exchange. It was a journey filled with personal and professional highlights, they muse. ‘What I really loved about this experience was being in Jake’s parent’s garden after just being at the factory for a day, and thinking it’s insane that we could be kind of anywhere in the world, we could be in any part of England, but we’re literally 20 minutes from family.’
Being in such close quarters to Burt’s family in Somerset, made the experience all the more memorable. The pair were given creative reign over the project, which amplifies the importance of nurturing and sustaining leather goods – previous participants include Nicholas Daley, Richard Malone, Ahluwalia. The designers left no creative stone unturned when it came to venturing into experimental and uncharted territory. ‘It was like [being in] Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – we just wanted to explore and develop everything. It’s been so nice,’ says Burt, who’s noticeably moved. Cooke expresses similar sentiments, noting that the partnership felt like a natural decision. ‘It literally felt like an extension of what we do already, rather than having to, like reframe everything that we do and try and fit it into someone else’s vision. To be involved in such a luxury level of manufacturing was a privilege.’
Artisans crafting leather bows onto handbags.
Burt and Cooke’s SS24 London Fashion Week show today at the storied Old Selfridges Hotel in west London is the culmination of several months of hard work. ‘Detailed, busy and a ball of energy’ are the terms they use to describe the accessories. Shapes within the capsule range vary from the Bayswater, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, to rarer styles, the Roxanne and the Lily. ‘It’s meant that with the clothes, the ideas that we’ve developed have been able to remain focused; it’s one look, one idea, and then a bag. I really love that contrast,’ explains Burt.
Stefan Cooke SS24
Mulberry X Stefan Cooke
Adorning the array of bags are Burt and Cooke’s contemporary spin on bows, which are rendered in leather, slashes, braiding and swirl detailing. A labour of love, the collection was filled with pivotal learning moments, from deconstructing bags to incorporating sturdier bows. ‘The original bow technique involved this Victorian dress that had silk bows hand-sewn on and crushed. We made it in jersey in the studio, and it was a fucking nightmare to do,’ Cooke says.
Stefan Cooke SS24
Mulberry artisans gently coaxed the pair into considering a leather iteration of the bows. ‘When I saw the first design with leather bows, I remember thinking wow,’ says Burt smiling. Having no restrictions made this endeavour all the richer ‘Because you’re using pre-loved bags, essentially deadstock pieces, there were no limitations,’ Cooke points out. Suffice to say, the bags festooned with leather saturated bows have been a hit amongst the team. Can the two pick a favourite? Cooke leans towards a tote silhouette, but ‘all of them are great in their own way,’ they say diplomatically.
Teamwork forged a large part of the journey for Cooke and Burt, and they’d bond with the artisans over their love of rugby while cutting up jersey’s and fashioning them onto handles. While the bags remain a focal part of the collaboration, the creatives extended their vision to include leather-laden studs – which were affixed to bags – to weave into their SS24 garments. ‘We asked Mulberry if they could do that to our garments as well, separate to the collection, and they immediately agreed,’ Burt says. The finished result included poncho’s littered with leather studs, immaculately tailored jackets sans collars and multicoloured draped tops – a new direction for the brand. ‘We spent the last four days in the factory just making these handcrafted leather studs and adding them on to clothes,’ Cooke says.
It’s not lost on the pair that this partnership with Mulberry is part of a larger message. To join their fashion peers in amplifying the importance of circular fashion isn’t a responsibility they take lightly. ‘What’s so crazy about Mulberry bags is that you get these bags, and they’re still incredible after 20 years,’ Cooke says emphatically. ‘It is important to [us] to feel like this line is a valid luxury offering. The accessories are secondhand and are made by such skilled artisans, and against a luxury setting, they hold their own weight.’
The Mulberry x Stefan Cooke collection is available to purchase now from the Mulberry Pre-Loved Pop Up, the brand’s flagship store on Regent Street, and globally on mulberry.com.
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