Mulberry Spring 2013 | Runway

It's hard not to call a collection inspired by ice pops sweet, and Emma Hill's Spring 2013 offering for Mulberry — what with its buttery leather, pastel-colored garments, and floral prints — definitely fits that sugary description.

The flowers helped tie the collection to another source of inspiration: an English country garden. The entrance to Hill's runway show on Tuesday was filled with garden gnomes and AstroTurf to reflect that feeling.

But the clothes themselves weren't what you'd call delicate. There was a strength in a number of leather pieces (even if they had flower-shaped metal buttons) and a definite toughness to the tweed biker jackets that came down the runway. And for all their flora, the '60s- and '70s-inspired suiting and dresses packed a bold visual appeal that wallflowers might shy away from. How else could they handle being walked down the runway with a couple of happy standard poodles?