These last few months have not at all been relaxing for the Mulberry brand. Following the departure of Emma Hill in June 2013, the British leather goods brand founded in 1971 did not have an easy time finding a replacement, but this Thursday 27 November it finally announced that it has signed Johnny Coca.

The designer, currently in charge of leather goods, eyewear, jewellery and shoes at Céline, will not take up his role until July. He will oversee all the Mulberry collections.

The wait should prove to be worth it though, especially when you consider that Coca is the man behind some of the biggest hits of the French brand.

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"I sincerely cannot wait to join Mulberry as its Creative Director and to propose a new direction for one of the best British brands," the designer shared in a press release.

Johnny Coca was born in Seville to Spanish parents. He later came to France and studied art, architecture and design at the École des Beaux-Arts and Ecole Boulle in Paris. "He draws his inspiration from his passion for fashion, design, art, architecture, cinema and music," specifies the press release.

The multilingual designer (he speaks four languages) started in fashion in 1996 designing bags for Louis Vuitton. He then moved onto Céline, then Bally, before returning to the women's ready-to-wear and leather goods brand from the LVMH group in 2010. He also teaches classes at the London design school Central St Martins.

In full crisis mode after a fresh warning on its results given in October, plus the resignation of Managing Director Bruno Guillon, Mulberry hopes to have found the winning card with Johnny Coca for its relaunch.

Dominique Muret (with Relaxnews)