Mulberry releases video introducing Jonny Coca ahead of LFW debut

Mulberry has unveiled a video introducing its new creative director Jonny Coca ahead of his debut collection for the brand, which will be unveiled on 21 February at 4pm at London Fashion Week and live-streamed on Mulberry's website.

Coca, who joined Mulberry from Céline last July, discusses his inspirations in the video and his approach to Mulberry which will draw heavily on the British brand's 45-year heritage, Britishness and "rebellion".

"With this collection I hope certain influences will come through. The idea of contradiction, of contrast, of tradition but also rebellion. But there is a balance of femininity, poetic but strong," he explains.

Coca reveals he has focused heavily on the construction of the clothes and bags, inspired by his love of architecture, and colour will be important with red expected to feature heavily. "It's quite cool because [red] is really Spanish but it's really British too," he adds.

The video concludes with the unveiling of a new logo for Mulberry, which Coca says should "feel familiar". It features the brand name realised in a serif typeface and the Mulberry tree logo.

Coca replaced former creative director Emma Hill who left the brand more than two years ago after reportedly disagreeing with the then CEO Bruno Guillon's strategy to push the brand's price point into true luxury territory. Hill went on to establish her own label Hill & Friends, which she shows at London Fashion Week.

Following a series of profit warnings and the tanking of Mulberry's share price, Guillon, a former managing director of Hermès, left Mulberry in 2014. Thierry Andretta, also formerly of Céline, was appointed CEO of the brand last March.

The brand had retreated from showing at London Fashion Week week while it sought a replacement for Hill and while Coca was bedded into the role; it announced in December that it would return to the show schedule.