2023 marks the 20th anniversary of a Mulberry icon: the Bayswater. A definitive bag of the early noughties, today it continues to be one of Mulberry’s most loved styles, synonymous with the brand’s Made to Last ethos.
But let’s rewind for a minute, to 2003. We keep in touch via Blackberry (Facebook won’t launch for another year). Denim is perilously low slung. The Black Eyed Peas’ Where is the Love? is on every music station. You can smoke inside. Madonna, Britney, and Christina kiss on stage at the VMAs. Dawson’s Creek ends, The OC begins. And the bag everyone wants? The Mulberry Bayswater.
A lot has changed since then, but despite the ebb and flow of trends, the Bayswater has stood the test of time. Reflective of the brand’s emphasis on quiet luxury and style rooted in function, it remains one of Mulberry’s best-selling styles, both new and pre-loved, and fans who bought their bags 20 years ago continue to love and wear them, earning the Bayswater the reputation of an icon.
Taking its name from the west London neighbourhood, the Bayswater became an instant hit with the noughties style set. Sienna Miller, Alexa Chung, Rihanna, and Kate Moss – whose personal Bayswater was included in the 2020 V&A exhibition Bags: Inside Out – were just a few of the fans who helped propel the bag to hero status. It was also immortalised in pop culture, cameoing in the original Gossip Girl. In recent years, the bag has found popularity with a whole new generation discovering Y2K fashion for the first time: today they scoop up heritage Bayswaters through The Mulberry Exchange, the circular economy initiative designed to give further mileage to pre- loved pieces.
