Signs of a noughties style revival have been here for a while. First there was the viral TikTok declaration that “indie sleaze” was back, then Sienna Miller began topping best dressed lists again with the return of her early 2000s boho chic style.
Now the defining It-bag of the era – the MulberryBayswater – is celebrating its 20th anniversary.
First introduced by the brand’s former design director Nicolas Knightly, it was an immediate mega-hit that attracted a lengthy waitlist directly after its debut. Inspired by Knightly’s muse, Princess Anne, the bag soon became a favourite of British pop culture royalty, too. Supermodel Kate Moss was hardly seen without her various beaten-up Bayswaters (she had one in practically every colour). Neither were other British cool girls Alexa Chung, Lily Allen, Florence Welch and Sienna Miller.
Across the pond Rihanna, Emma Roberts, Jennifer Lopez and Blake Lively also fell for the OG “ludicrously capacious” bag – many of whom would carry it in the crook of their arms with the signature Postman’s Lock closure unfastened. It’s a style on the rise again thanks to Miu Miu’s Fall/ Winter 2023 show, which sent bedhead haired models down the runway with their bag hanging from their bent-up arms.
The bag was so emblematic of the time that the V&A immortalised it in their exhibition “Bags: Inside Out” with curator exhibition Lucia Savi saying at the time: “The Bayswater and Alexa bags are two of Mulberry’s most recognisable and timeless designs. Kate Moss was often seen carrying Mulberry bags, including this Bayswater – her association with this design helped it to become the quintessential icon it is today.”
Although it perfectly encapsulated the noughties zeitgeist, the Bayswater continues to be a bestseller to this day. So to celebrate the 20 years of the brands first It-bag Mulberry is dropping three new styles - the compact East/West Bayswater, the North/South Tote, and the Zipped Bayswater Tote in a campaign fronted by former ES Magazine cover star Alva Claire.
