This Designer Is Selling Her Bags on Net-A-Porter the Minute They Hit the Runway
The Hill & Friends presentation at Claridge’s Hotel during London Fashion Week. Photo: Courtesy of Hill & Friends
Most girls want a pony for their birthday. Emma Hill got two for her fashion show during London Fashion Week — and they galloped straight through the crystal-decked ballroom of Claridge’s Hotel. “Surprise!” she laughed, as the room’s ancient chandeliers began to shake in rhythm with the horse’s hooves. The whole room applauded. Anna Wintour took a picture on her cell phone. It was, in the words of breathless fashion fans, “a moment.”
Shetland ponies storm the runway at the Hill & Friends presentation. Photo: Courtesy of Hill & Friends
But while the spectacle was a definite shock, the new collection—called Hill & Friends —was not. Instead, it was exactly what Hill’s cool-but-grown-up friends have demanded: well-crafted bags that look cool, hold everything, and seem like direct descendants of her previous best-sellers for Mulberry. “I like big hardware on little bags, and little hardware on big bags,” she told Yahoo Style. “I wanted every bag to be locally made in England, from mostly Italian leather—although with the goat [skin], those goats are English! And we decided unlike any other time in my life, the presentation would be all male models. I mean, just once, I thought, ‘let’s get surrounded by hot boys.’” She dressed hers up like hotel bellhops; each one came down the “runway”—i.e. the lobby of the swanky hotel —carrying Hill’s new bags on trays, rolling breakfast tables, and even a luggage cart, where 8-year-old Hudson Hill (Emma’s son) posed gamely with a pile of teddy bears. (“Those were made in England, too!” Hill exclaimed. “And so was he!”)
Anna Wintour with Natalie Massenet and Elizabeth Saltzman at the Hill & Friends presentation during London Fashion Week. Photo: Courtesy of Hil & Friends
The good news: even if you didn’t see the ponies firsthand, you can buy Hill’s bags right now online at Net-a-porter. They’re each called The Happy something (satchel / cross body / etc) and their signature mark is a metal smiley face, winking at the front. “We don’t have plans to name the bags after anyone specific at the moment,” says Hill, who created the famous Alexa (as in Chung) bag, then later christened a purse for Lana Del Rey. “The ‘friends’ in Hill & Friends isn’t really about famous people. It’s about the craftspeople who make our bags, the office team, the people who work with us every day… and you, obviously!” she laughed. “The friends are also the people that wear the bags! My friends all have great taste anyway. So it shouldn’t be hard.”
No, it shouldn’t. Dibs on the leopard print one, Emma!
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