STARTING OVER: Johnny Coca will take up his role as Mulberry’s creative director today following his appointment last November. Coca was most recently head design director for leather goods, accessories, shoes and jewelry at Céline.
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“It is with great enthusiasm that I embrace my new role as creative director,” said the designer, adding that he was eager to start working with the brand’s design teams in London.
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“It is also crucial for me to spend as much time as possible at The Rookery and at The Willows, our factories in Somerset, as they are the heart of our brand, and craftsmanship is the soul of our products.”
Coca will lead Mulberry’s design team on women’s and men’s leather accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear and soft accessories, and will oversee all creative aspects of the brand’s image.
Coca was born in Seville to Spanish parents and later moved to Paris, where he studied art, architecture and design at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts, École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris-Malaquais and École Boulle in Paris respectively.
He succeeds Emma Hill, who left the company in 2013 and recently revealed plans to launch her own line.
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