Johnny Coca reimagines The Queen’s royal wardrobe for Mulberry’s autumn collection

Of the many brightly-hued skirt suits that are undoubtedly pressed, ready and available in The Queen’s wardrobe this spring, Mulberry’s creative director, Johnny Coca, suggests that she should reach for a coral one on the day of the royal wedding. “I think that’s my favourite colour on her,” he muses.

A passion for joy-bringing colour is just one of many fashion principles that Coca and Her Majesty are in agreement on, evidenced in his autumn collection, as he fuses Fifties, Seventies and Eighties influences, paying particular attention to what the British aristocracy were wearing at the time.

“I’m looking at these old pictures of the royal family and thinking ‘yeah this is good, this is good’,” he laughs as he presents his moodboard, covered with pictures of The Queen and Prince Philip in official portraits. “Like Diana with the polka dots and ruffle, when you see these details you understand where they have come from as well as the fact that you are interested in them now.”

Marabou-trimmed babydoll dresses (with the mules to match), sit beside silk blouses in micro polka dots, and boxy tweed jackets, but everything is given a modern edge when doused in a now-signature kooky colour palette by Coca. “The twist on the look always comes from the strength of these colour combinations,” he considers. “You can take something very classic and make it look eccentric and unusual if you just play with the right colour.”

As for the bags, there’s the Winslow box style (“I can imagine the Queen holding this in a classic leather but I also love the neon velvet versions with quilted hearts”), and the monster of all fluffy clutches, Witney, is bound to fly come party season.

Many elements of the accessories collection can do double-duty; the feathers can be clipped on and off of heels for a more subtle look, plus he’s introduced a new concept, bag scarves, which are squares of printed silk designed to twist elegantly around the handle of the new Leighton hobo. “It’s not too hard to do, we will have people to show how it is done in the shops,” he attests.

Coca may only have shown his spring collection for the heritage British brand a fortnight ago, but today in Paris he was giving us a first look at to what the next season will hold. The contents of that London Fashion Week catwalk show did, with some ‘see-now-buy-now’ magic, drop into stores immediately after they were presented (and are reportedly selling well) which meant that today’s preview was purely a chance to show off what’s coming up next and how well Mulberry is doing in his hands.

“This is about 35% of what will go onto the runway in September,” Coca reveals. “I don’t understand how some designers can not be thinking about several collections at once. I am already looking at spring 2019. You just have to be a bit organised.”