Our history
Bottletop began in 2002 when Cameron Saul discovered a quirky wire frame handbag made from recycled bottle tops in Uganda. He developed the bag with his father Roger (Founder of Mulberry) and they launched it through the luxury British fashion house with a photographic series by iconic British photographer David Bailey. The Mulberry Bottletop bag was heralded as a sensation by the international fashion press and quickly became the best selling bag of the season, generating employment in Africa and vital funds for inspiring grass roots education projects in the process.
Oliver Wayman continued the Bottletop tradition of beautiful handmade craftsmanship combined with forward thinking design and attention to detail by discovering a stunning silver chain mail bag with a distinctly 1970’s Paco-Rabanne feel. Featuring an irresistible and intricate lightweight material, the bag consisted of recycled aluminium ring-pulls held together by crotchet. In partnership with Luciano Dos Santos (a young entrepreneur from a violent favella in Salvador, Brazil) they pioneered the development of this signature material and used it as the basis for the current range of Bottletop bags.
The best selling ‘Bellani’, (named after Wayman’s mother who found the first bag featuring this production technique) generated a wave of international publicity and demand that paved the way for the current collection, the production of which now supports over 40 previously unemployed women and their families in Brazil.
Bottletop bags and accessories have long attracted the attention of the fashion elite and continue to be sold only through the best retailers. Bottletop sets out to lead the way both in terms of product design and its forward thinking business model that delivers serious, measurable social impact through the brand.
Bottletop also funds the operation of the Bottletop Foundation, which uses contemporary art and music to raise funds and awareness for education projects that tackle delicate teenage health issues such as HIV/AIDS, drug abuse and teenage pregnancy. The Bottletop Foundation supports over 35,000 young people each year through education projects in Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Brazil and the UK.