Mulberry launches Cara Delevingne bag range

LONDON (Reuters) - Luxury fashion group Mulberry has unveiled a new collection of bags in collaboration with British model Cara Delevingne, hoping to improve its fortunes after a profit warning and problems overseas. The made-in-England Cara Delevingne Collection, which features three sizes in three different finishes, was launched by Mulberry in London on Sunday. Delevingne, who has "Made in England" tattooed on her foot, has shot to fame modeling for luxury brands such as Burberry and Chanel and is a regular face in fashion magazines and on advertising billboards. She has also been the face of two recent Mulberry campaigns. Under its boss Bruno Guillon, Mulberry has increased prices to take its brand more upmarket from a traditional position of "affordable luxury" and moved to raise the company's profile overseas, targeting affluent Asian shoppers with new stores in key tourist spots. Those efforts were undone over the key Christmas period as Mulberry suffered from fierce discounting by rivals and weaker demand in South Korea, forcing it to issue a profit warning that sent its shares tumbling. The firm, which made around 65 percent of its sales in the UK in 2013, has focused on improving the quality of its products and committed to making half of its handbags in England as it seeks a higher-end position for the brand. Prices of the new range, Mulberry's first celebrity collaboration since it teamed up with U.S. singer Lana Del Rey in May 2012, will start at 890 pounds ($1,500) and go up to 2,500 pounds, the firm said. ($1 = 0.6011 British pounds) (Reporting by Neil Maidment; editing by Tom Pfeiffer)