Bagging it

Mulberry awarded at the 2012 Walpole Awards.

FAMED for reinventing the “it bag”, luxury group Mulberry was named Walpole’s 2012 Best British Luxury Brand at a ceremony in London.

Mulberry beat off stiff competition in the category from a resurgent Stella McCartney who has had a shining Olympic year, and Alexander McQueen.

Mulberry creative director Emma Hill accepted the award at a ceremony at London’s Banqueting House, held in association with private bank Couts.

In other catergories, the Best Luxury Brand Online prize went to Burberry, while Best Emerging British Luxury Brand was won byy designer swimwear label Orlebar Brown .

Mulberry was founded in 1971 but has been revitalized by the presence of Emma Hill and the success of the company announced a renewed focus on Asian markets. ”We just opened a flagship store in Singapore a couple of weeks ago and we’re really looking at expanding our stores, expanding our flagships and specifically expanding our men’s collections. The male Asian consumer is growing hugely,” Hill told CNBC.

Previous recipients of the awards include Vivienne Westwood, while Victoria Beckham won Emerging British Luxury Brand in 2011.

”This year’s Walpole award winners represent some of the most talented organisations from across the luxury industry and we are delighted to recognise their exceptional achievements,” said Walpole CEO Julia Carrick who is also publisher and founder, of the Financial Times’s How To Spend It magazine.

Walpole is a not-for-profit organization that represents the British luxury industry. The group positions itself as the “voice of British luxury” and it “leads an active programme programme of thought leadership, research, political engagement, initiatives and events to promote promote and inspire British luxury worldwide.”