Guess the year. There’s no social media – well, unless you count LiveJournal. Your jeans are slung low and your hair is side-parted. ‘Crazy in Love’ is playing on the radio. And most importantly, in the crook of your arm, you’re cradling – or dreaming about cradling – a Mulberry Bayswater.
The year was 2003 and if that’s not enough to jolt you out of your nostalgic reverie, this will be: the Mulberry Bayswater, the mother of all ‘It’ bags, is 20 years old. That makes it Gen Z.
If you’re still carrying yours, you’re not alone; the Bayswater remains one of Mulberry’s best-selling styles. There’s something about its beautifully roomy size, the Postman’s Lock closure, the minimal branding – if you know, you know – that makes it forever chic.
It’s apt that the Bayswater takes its name from a neighbourhood in West London, as it’s a mere hop, skip and a jump from Notting Hill, where it (unofficially) achieved ‘It’ bag status in 2004 – all thanks to a photograph of one oft-copied supermodel. The picture in question featured Kate Moss wearing jeans, a Bella Freud ‘Je t’aime Jane’ jumper, Mukluk boots and, most importantly, a black Bayswater – balanced in the crook of her arm (a strangely Noughties-specific way of carrying a bag which, if Miu Miu’s autumn/winter 2023 show is anything to go by, is back). Her endorsement solidified the bag’s iconic status – something that was later celebrated in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s 2020 exhibition, ‘Bags: Inside Out,’ which featured a Bayswater owned by Moss.
Kate Moss carrying the Mulberry Bayswater in 2008
The Bayswater found its way into the elbow crooks of other stylish women, too, including Sienna Miller, Rihanna, Lily Allen and Alexa Chung, whose 2008 Wireless Festival outfit – smock dress, swing coat, knee socks, loafers and Bayswater – feels as relevant now as it did then. The bag was even immortalised on-screen in Gossip Girl, twice, as Serena Van der Woodsen’s tote of choice.
To celebrate the bag’s vicennial, Mulberry has added a handful of fresh styles to the Bayswater family (more on that later), while continuing to encourage the re-wearing of pre-loved bags through The Mulberry Exchange, an in-store and digital platform designed to match authenticated and restored bags to new owners. Like Tinder – but both chicer and more sustainable.
Alexa Chung carrying Mulberry Bayswater in 2008
“Our ultimate goal is to make bags that will be used for a lifetime and passed onto the next generation,” says Mulberry’s CEO, Thierry Andretta. “The Bayswater embodies our Made to Last ethos, which is one of the reasons why after 20 years it remains an emblem of enduring style and continues to be one of our best-loved designs.”
Blake Lively carrying the Mulberry Bayswater on the set of ’Gossip Girl’ in 2009
The bag represents the British brand’s gold standard, against which all other bags have to measure up. When they begin their training, Mulberry’s craftspeople are taught skills based on the construction of a Bayswater. Master artisans will make many Bayswaters in their career, as no matter what the season, there is always one line at either of the brand’s Somerset factories dedicated to the making of this specific bag – such is its demand.
Mia Regan carrying the mini Mulberry Bayswater in 2023
The new-gen Bayswaters include the sleek and compact East/West, the North/South (a classic shoulder bag) and the Zip Tote, which is cleverly expandable – all in paintbox brights as well as failsafe neutrals. Style miniaturists will delight in the Mini and even mini-er Micro, which have been reprised in new-season shades. And, of course, there is the beloved, OG Bayswater, which is now available in 19 different colours (not including pre-loved iterations) and ready to resume its rightful place in elbow crooks everywhere.
