New Creative Hires at Marc Jacobs

Marc by Marc Jacobs (New York) has named a new creative director and a new design director. It will be the first time in the company’s 13-year history that those roles were not occupied by Jacobs himself.

Katie Hillier, the new creative director, has been based in London, working on a freelance basis for the company for 10 years, beginning in handbag design and eventually extending to overseeing the watch, eyewear and jewelry areas.

Hillier, given license to staff her own team, hired Luella Bartley, an English designer who had her own collection, Luella, from 1999 to 2009. According to the report in Women’s Wear Daily, “Bartley has also been credited with reinvigorating the Mulberry handbag line with her capsule collection for the brand in 2002.”

“He’s still the boss,” said president and vice chairman Robert Duffy. “He’s as involved as he wants to be. It depends on the season.”

WWD reports that Jacobs will remain the boss at large of Marc by Marc; Hillier will oversee everything pertaining to its women’s collection; Karl Aberg, global design director of men’s collections, will keep the current men’s team intact; and Venetia Scott, Marc by Marc Jacobs’ long-time stylist and artistic director, will remain active in her roles.

All three women will continue to be based in London. “You can work anywhere now,” Duffy said. “You can have fittings via Skype. You can do whatever you want.”