Marc Jacobs hires London design duo

 
Kate Moss and Marc Jacobs share a light moment backstage following the Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2013 Ready-to-Wear show
Getty
Karen Dacre31 May 2013

Marc Jacobs has appointed two of London’s best known design talents to head up his fashion diffusion line Marc By Marc Jacobs, based in New York.

Accessory designer Katie Hillier has accepted the role of creative director while Luella Bartley, whose self-titled label closed in 2009, is to become the brand’s design director.

The appointments mark a first for the label – a slightly more affordable version of Marc Jacobs mainline- which has been the sole charge of Jacobs and his business partner Robert Duffy since its inception in 2000.

Hillier, 38, operates from a studio in Shoreditch’s Arnold Circus and lives in Hackney. Having a worked for Jacobs on a freelance basis for over ten years, she is already responsible for some of Marc by Marc’s bestselling bags and accessories.

A graduate of The University of Westminster, Hillier has designed for a host of luxury brands including Loewe and Asprey. She is also behind Victoria Beckham’s phenomenally successful accessories collection. Her own brand of jewellery and accessories is rapidly growing in popularity.

“She has a million ideas,” said Duffy of Hillier adding that “she is allowed to staff the team any way she wants.”

Hillier’s first move was to offer a job to Luella Bartley with whom she worked on Bartley’s own collection, Luella, which launched in 1999.

Bartley who is now based in Cornwall lives with her husband the photographer David Sims and their three children. She began her career as a fashion assistant working at Vogue and for the Evening Standard and was awarded an MBE in 2010.

Both Hillier and Bartley are known for their playful, typically British tongue in cheek approach to design. Bartley’s first collection “Daddy I want A Pony” immediately endeared her to the fashion industry while Hillier’s affection for kooky design and high quality leather have made her a commodity at some of the biggest fashion houses in the world.

The London based stylist Venetia Scott will continue to work with Marc by Marc as stylist and artistic director. With Duffy and Jacobs blessing, all three women will continue to live and work in the capital.

“You can work anywhere now” said Duffy. “You can have fittings via Skype. You can do whatever you want.”

The next Marc by Marc collection will be unveiled at New York Fashion Week in September.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT