Mulberry celebrated the derring-do of Britain’s Victorian explorers with an elaborate, campsite-themed dinner during London Fashion Week, where guests were forced to rough it—at Claridge’s, of all places. With a few exceptions, retailers, industry figures, press and friends of the brand—including Alexa Chung, Gemma Arterton, Amber Le Bon, Laura Bailey, and Helena Bonham Carter—got down on their hands and knees to climb through a small tent linking the room where cocktails were served to the dining area draped with mosquito nets. A long, narrow table was laid with hurricane lamps, stews and curries were served in billy cans and metal saucepans, and guests perched on folding director’s chairs.
While some guests embraced the mood—“I limboed right through the tent,” said a cheerful Harold Tillman, chairman of the British Fashion Council—others were less enthusiastic: “I actually came in through the kitchen,” said Mulberry creative director Emma Hill. “No one needs to see a double-page spread of my backside, or me flipped over like a turtle on its back!”
The dinner marked the first screening of the short film “The Lost Explorer,” directed by the photographer Tim Walker and based on the book by Patrick McGrath. Mulberry, which sponsored the film, held a similar dinner in New York in late October.