Coca's bayswater

[CPrincessUK]

I haven't seen the new colours in real life but it's worth bearing in mind that the individual retail customer isn't the first thing which marketers think about. The reason Mulberry fell apart was because the orders from retailers collapsed; if the bags don't get into the shops in the first place then they are not going to sell.

Given Mulberry's share price has steadied it's likely that those store orders have gone in, which is what the money people care about. Customers asked to keep the classic bays, and Mulberry has done so; there comes a point where asking that things stay the same is the commercial road to disaster, as we have seen with BHS going into receivership. Time will tell, and I hope you get your black one in the sale

Let's hope the retailers continue ordering after what may be a flop this year with these designs. At my local concession they had the Coca designs, Clifton etc pushed to one side and the SA seemed rather apologetic about them.

 

[Evia]

Very astute, you Picked up on the Freya printed leather also, it's bad enough the hybrid design, but messing with the leather again, don't they learn!!???

Bays buckle is so much nicer, I agree

Congo was a printed leather, as was Nile, kenya and a load of other classics

 

[Louliu71]

Congo was a printed leather, as was Nile, kenya and a load of other classics

Yeah but that was back in the day when they used quality leather, for me it's way too over processed and these days they don't even smell of leather.

I could smell the leather on my pompon today, not as strong as SBS but still smells divine

Last time I walked into M, I couldn't smell a thing

One of the reasons I returned my mini buckle bays, hideous smell of chemicals

 

[Bromley]

Wow, it looks massive on the model! I must say I don't really see the added value to this bag next to the 'old bayswater'. But maybe I'm just not getting it.

 

[Evia]

Yeah but that was back in the day when they used quality leather, for me it's way too over processed and these days they don't even smell of leather.

I could smell the leather on my pompon today, not as strong as SBS but still smells divine

Last time I walked into M, I couldn't smell a thing

One of the reasons I returned my mini buckle bays, hideous smell of chemicals

But didn't the mini buckle have mcrofibre, that stuff does reek. The new bays has a suede lining, which is good news

 

[Tuned83]

The general lack of interest on mulberry Instagram for these new bags says it all. A couple of comments after the bags r posted does not bode well.

 

[remainsilly]

Very astute, you Picked up on the Freya printed leather also, it's bad enough the hybrid design, but messing with the leather again, don't they learn!!???

Bays buckle is so much nicer, I agree

When see terms as "similar to natural" & "print assisted," concern creeps in.

But, am all about naturally freaky mulbs.
And select carefully for bags with odd grain patterns.
Alice is my only uniform-print bag. Now feels much better, since printed grain flattening in places.
To look more mismatched.

A personality quirk I must bear.

 

[scrapsy]

I'm sorry Mulberry, but I'm done and moving on.

 

[Foo]

Wow, that is certainly an ugly bag. It may end up selling fine, though. I hate the Celine Luggage and Trapeze bags, but they have been extremely successful. People must like that winged shape. No one ever accused me of having cutting edge taste, of course. 😝

 

[Willowbarb]

I understand your point Willow but Mulberry just looks like a sub brand of Celine and others now. The simplicity of Mulberrys designs was the reason I liked them in the first place. Understated class, quality leather etc.. Just looks cheap to me and too much like other stuff already available but more expensive. I'm really sad as the only things I like now are the classics. Will stick with my bayswaters but not these.

But the Bayswater isn't a simple design. As the journalist on purseblog noted a few weeks ago, it's a rip off of Hermes Birkin, and always has been.

Of course, just about every manufacturer does rip offs of Hermes Birkin, and she showed pictures of all those rip offs as well, but claiming that the Bays is a simple design isn't justifiable when you look at those pieces of leather waving around in the breeze. There is no practical reason for them; they are just there to make it look like a Birkin.

Which is absolutely fine; very few people will ever get to buy a Birkin, and it's great that there are affordable alternatives, including Mulberry, for people who love the look. But Mulberry didn't create that look; Hermes did. :wondering

http://www.purseblog.com/trends/hermes-birkin-bag-lookalikes/

 

[arnoldscigar]

Photos often don't do the bags justice, we've seen that before.

exactly- I'm looking forward to seeing them in store- i actually like the look of them- like the shape, the fact they've stopped using the lighter stitching on the oak and it blends in, like the foil embossing, am quite impressed- and i like the look of the leather too- wonder if it'll be smushy or stiff?

wonder if this means they'll be in store now?

 

[L etoile]

I doubt that Mulberry is going to use new colours on the classic Bays; after all, the whole marketing point of retaining the classic Bays is because customers didn't want it to change.

Indeed, many Mulberry fans here have very firmly stated that they didn't want the classic Bays to change. It's probably expecting a bit too much from the marketing team to hope they will parse that as we don't want it to change unless it's to new colours which have never been used in a Bays before; why should they?

Though it's always worth asking if there are any plans to produce the classic Bays in non-classic colours; if there's enough demand the marketing team usually respond

I'm confused; they've almost always made the Bays in non-classic colors. Every season, there are classic Bays bags in the seasonal colors. While oak and black are stables, there's always an array of fun colors, i.e. petal pink, oxblood, fiery spritz, neon blue, etc.

 

[kerplunk]

Oh dear.
They just look like dodgy fakes.
Not a fan of the wings at all - is the gap big enough for someone to get their hand in?
In practicality, I understand why you'd do that to the interior PML with the friction rubs that occur, but it's just looks like an Arthur Job.
They're in the new section now with "add to shopping bag".

 

[kerplunk]

From the product description:

The Bayswater is Mulberry’s most iconic leather bag, recognisable at twenty paces. Launched in 2003, its simple structure, timeless design and signature postman’s lock made it instantly popular. Now, more than a decade later, Creative Director Johnny Coca has enhanced the beauty and practicality of the Bayswater bag. The new design is light to carry, yet inherently structured. It can easily carry laptops, files, tablets and all modern accompaniments while maintaining its elegant aesthetic.

Lol, okay, if you say so.

 

[GoStanford]

.

I like your diplomacy! I agree it now looks like a Celine bag. Not a perfect comparison, but many years ago, Coach tried to do this by keeping the Classic bags such as the Stewardess, Saddle Bag, etc. and then branching out...and you have seen the brand dilution that has happened with that.

I do like the contrasting color lining but I wonder why the need to reformulate the bag?

I had tried to join the Sofa Support Group for 2016 but I failed miserably. Now I feel less guilty about searching for another bag!