A few weeks ago everyone was up in arms after Tyler Shields released that attention-seeking image of a $100,000 Birkin that he sent on fire. While it's not hard to under stand what people were outraged, especially in these trying times, for years there has always been a talk that brands have done this to stay in control of their brand image.

In a recent interview with Telegraph Fashion, Mulberry's Emma Hill named Hermès as an offender:

“No one can touch them in terms of quality. A friend who was working at Hermès said that if there was even the most minor imperfection on a bag they would take it out the back and burn it – no compromise.”

While it's important to point out that that Hill's information is hearsay, it's not too far-fetched. Anyone that read Imogen Edwards Jones' 'Fashion Babylon' will know that such acts done by brands is a lot more common that you would think. The logic behind it is said to be that it prevents their cast-offs being sold off in a way that is out of their control and which therefore cheapens the brand.

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This morning the list of the Queen's Birthday Honours list dropped and as many had expected, Sarah Burton was one of the names in the mix.

To say that she's done a great job since taking over the reigns at Alexander McQueen would be an understatement and of course, last year she became a household name across the world after designing Kate Middleton's wedding dress. If there was ever a person to receive the OBE (Order of the British Empire), it's her.

But she's not the only creative director receiving a big nod this year. Mulberry's Emma Hill also made the list, being awarded a CBE and the timing couldn't be better. Last week the brand announced that profits were up last year by 54% and ever since she joined the brand back in 2008, it had continued to go from strength to strength.

Recently we reported that Business Week has heralded Mulberry as the best performing fashion house after the success of their much-loved bag, The Alexa, but the question on our mind was what next for the brand and now we know.

Have a look at the Carter - the new bag that we will all be coveted for the next few seasons. The bag has already been spotted on Kate Bosworth and comes with double lock detailing in styles like embossed snake, suede, patent leather and nappa in an assortment of styles and colours all featuring a classic chain handle. "I'm so thrilled with Carter," Emma Hill told Vogue.com. "It's a new family and it's very much Mulberry-girl-grows-up. The autumn/winter 2011 season is a twist on the classically English countryside, and Carter is just the kind of bag that you can take from town to a country-house weekend."

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When you think about Mulberry, the first thing that springs to mind are the accessories, right? But that's all changing. Although the designs aren't anything you haven't seen before, Emma Hill continually creates nice, easy pieces that you'd want in your wardrobe. Given the fact the show's Claridges venue was full of names like Kirsten Dunst, Alexa Chung and Clémence Poésy, it looks like they agree.

Moreso this season than last, Hill's penchant for all things English was clear. The Mulberry girl is "very English," she told Style.com. "She's got a dilapidated, stately home. She's got her long party dress on and she throws on a duffel coat." The classic coat was often teamed with floral-printed maxi dresses coming with tan ankle boots. Knee-length dresses came with leaf prints that also featured on pussy-bow blouses.

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January Jones: The newest face of Versace [WWD]

Is Mariacarla Boscono fronting the next Prada campaign? [The Cut]

Mulberry's Emma Hill has come a long, long way [Vogue UK]

Betsey Johnson is getting a brand makeover, courtesy of Steve Madden [WSJ]

We always need more LBDs [Refinery29]

Hamish Bowles, Suzy Menkes and Alexandra Schulman were all in London's Claridges this morning to watch Emma Hill's latest collection for Mulberry. Models walked down the runway around huge pink roses - fitting considering that Hill cited Frances Hodgson Burnett's novel, 'The Secret Garden' as the inspiration for her S/S11 collection - which instantly transported us into a whimsical world of prints, colour and playful experimentation.

The Mulberry definitely grew up this season. The collection opened with a series of pleated shirt dresses cinched at the waist with volumous short sleeves and gold metal buttons. Tops came in this season's terracotta styled with wide leg high waisted trousers. Double breasted jackets tied at the waist with brown belts came with knee length feminine skirts. Hemlines were also a lot longer this season and came knee length on skirts or mid-calf on dresses. Orange blouses were youthful but chic styled with matching high waisted shorts, as were sheer blouses in nude styled with trousers in peach. Although the collection opened with soft, romantic colours as the collection progressed Hill introduced rich colours like aubergine on a dress with a big knot along the chest and visible zip in a similar hue running down the back.

What definitely stood out were a series of navy blue dresses created by reams of silk to form a full and shape covered in different sizes of hand-stitched bows.

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Alexa Chung, Mulberry's unofficial brand ambassador and the namesake for the label's buzzy Alexa bag, seemed to have influenced Emma Hill's latest work. The Mulberry creative director said she took reference from 'Valley of the Dolls' styling, naughty English royalty, Hollywood theatricals and over-the-top animal prints for Fall '10. Really, we saw a whole lot of Miss Chung in the young, quirky details. And we liked it.

From a three-quarter-sleeved "Loopy Leopard" print dress worn with animal-print boots to a playful black dress with Swan Lake ruffles, Hill aimed for fun. Cleverly tailored separates emphasised layering and played with texture in a decidedly modern way. The real standouts, though, were the accessories. There were new versions of the Alexa (this season, in gunmetal sparkle tweed and leopard-prints patent leather), and we were drawn to the black and plum glitter-leather Mitzy. But the best-dressed model of the fall presentation would never wear a bag. Naturally, we're talking about everyone's recurring favourite, the Mulberry dog - who looks smashing in Fairisle, by the way.

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Quintessentially British brand Mulberry has announced the release of a range of men's and women's laptop bags for Apple. The nine-piece collection will include laptop bags, laptop sleeves and mini cross-body bags, in tan, black and an eye-catching pink, all of which will still resemble previous classic designs, such as the Bayswater and its male counterpart, the Brynmore, in tan and black.

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