A Rose Basket Love Story

The Rose Basket is the 1993 bag that started everything and now calls the V&A home. And for 2024, it's been re-imagined in Chartreuse Satin with shocking pink flowers.​ The update feels vibrant, fresh and modern. Lulu was inspired by the distinctive green shade of the satin.

But what about its backstory? "My life changed in 1993 when I designed the Florist Basket”, remembers Lulu. “It was a black, silk satin handbag shaped like a vase with red velvet roses on top. It caught everyone’s imagination. The success of that bag taught me to dare to be different.”

The idea came simply from her love of receiving flowers. “Roses were my favourite thing,” she says. “And I remember thinking one day, it’d be so great if you could carry a vase of roses around with you all the time.” ​ ​ And so The Rose Basket was born - a bag like no other and a witty, whimsical creation that we now know as ‘quintessentially Lulu’.

As such an important part of the Lulu DNA, for the Icons of British Fashion exhibition there are many Rose Baskets on display including giant ones made with the artist Tattie Rose. At Chelsea Flower Show last year, a special ‘Living’ Rose Basket was created specially for the occasion.

Lulu’s Collectible bags have been described as 'tomorrow's treasures', with many museums, including London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, housing them as part of their permanent collections. They have also been the subject of two exhibitions in Sotheby’s London and New York.

At the time of the New York exhibition in 2011, Sotheby’s Amy Todd Middleton spoke about Lulu’s designs to Vanity Fair: “It’s a combination of completely original design with an element of handcrafting you don’t find in a lot of bags. They’re so dainty and elegant and sophisticated, but charming and whimsical all at the same time. You just get caught in the Lulu spell.”

We couldn’t have put it better ourselves. Here’s to many more years of carrying our roses with us everywhere we go.