Mulberry muse: Lana Del Rey bags honour

Mulberry has a new muse, husky-voiced American songstress and Vogue cover girl, Lana Del Rey. The British label’s latest handbag – sure to be the next ‘it’ bag” – is inspired by the Video Games singer’s retro look.

The singer was catapulted onto the music scene late last year in a mix of glory and controversy, but in a matter of months, she is owning to both the music and fashion world. Her debut album, Born to Die, was released less than a month ago and now, she has a designer handbag named after her. Already.

Love her or hate her, Lana Del Rey is the talk of the town at the moment. Her music has divided critics but gone on to enjoy mainstream chart success: yet her recent appearance on US sketch show Saturday Night Live sparked further controversy as she was universally criticised. In Britain, it seems, it’s a different story. This week, Del Rey won the 2012 Brit Award for International Breakthrough Act – not an easy feat, considering she was nominated in a category with Nicki Minaj, Bon Iver, Aloe Blacc and Foster the People.

Del Rey (real name Elizabeth Grant) joins an elite club of celebrities who have had designer handbags named after them, the most iconic of all being the Hermès Birkin bag inspired by British actress and singer Jane Birkin. Thanks to Mulberry, her name is immortalised forever in the fashion world.

Mulberry’s Creative Director Emma Hill met Del Rey last year and was immediately entranced by her unique look. In a statement, she said: ‘I love Lana’s nostalgic references to bygone glamour and the fact that her look is retrospective yet so modern. This inspired us to create a bag that was timeless, refined and elegant, yet with a beautiful practicality that would suit any woman.’

This week, Lana attended the Mulberry show at London Fashion Week, alongside Elizabeth Olsen and Michelle Williams, clutching her eponymous handbag in White Ostrich in the front row. Also in attendance was presenter and model Alexa Chung, the inspiration behind Mulberry’s best-selling Alexa handbag. Del Rey also performed at Mulberry’s Fashion Week Dinner at Claridge’s following the runway show, wearing a custom-made Mulberry Autumn/Winter 2012 black lace dress.

Del Rey said of her namesake: ‘I love the design, it’s a perfect mix between old school Hollywood and contemporary style. It’s an honour that such a classic and prestigious brand would name a bag after me.’

The Del Rey handbag will be available from May as part of Mulberry’s A/W12 collection. It will be available in a variety of leathers and colours.

Want it? It’s £650. Ouch.

Khaleda Rahman