It’s been a great week for musical-chairs fashion rumors and it’s only Wednesday. Yesterday, we explored whether or not Marc Jacobs might be leaving his longtime post at Louis Vuitton, and today, Women’s Wear Daily has him as the prospective leader of Coach after Reed Krakoff departs in 2014. Over at The Cut, however, they’re floating Emma Hill’s name as the ideal heir to the Coach throne. Hill, of course, is Mulberry’s creative director – or she was, until she announced her departure earlier this week. Personally, I’m just waiting for someone to shut the music off so everyone can sit down at their random new jobs.
According to WWD, Coach has drawn up a “dream list” of candidates for its top creative spot, and both Jacobs’ and Hill’s names are on that list, along with Nicolas Ghesquiere and Chloe’s Clare Waight Keller. And Phillip Lim. Oh, and also Derek Lam. This seems more like it could simply be termed a list of awesome designers with accessories success instead of a list of actual candidates for the job, but Coach has deep pockets and big goals as a lifestyle brand, so it wouldn’t astonish me to see a very big name make a new home at the Manhattan-based company. (I think we can rule out Ghesquiere, though – Coach may have lots of resources, but the prospective candidate would still have to consent to work with the brand, and Ghesquiere simply doesn’t seem like the Coach type.)
WWD seems to take Jacobs as the most compelling name on the list, but in my mind, Emma Hill would easily be the best fit. Her abrupt departure from Mulberry is purported to be over her desire the keep the brand in the luxury-contemporary market, which is the lifestyle niche that Coach is looking to fill in the US. Also, her contributions at Mulberry helped ensure that the brand is looked at as a source for fashionable leather goods for stylish young women with both an appreciation for a heritage look and a sense of playfulness about personal style; if that’s not how I’d also describe the Coach look, I’m not sure what is.
Naturally, no official sources are commenting on any of this, so we’re left to wile away our summer days, speculating and rumor-mongering. With Marc Jacobs’ Louis Vuitton contract and Reed Krakoff’s tenure not ending until 2014, we might be waiting quite a while. Coach fans, have your ideas on who you’d like to see as the head of the brand evolved since Krakoff first announced his impending departure?
