Last month, Johnny Coca revealed his first runway offering as creative director of Mulberry during London Fashion Week. The collection was both nostalgic and novel, and offered a fresh lease of life for the British design house and those who buy into it. Just days after the show, MOJEH sat down with the Spanish designer to discuss the women he admires and reawakening a heritage house.
Congratulations on your appointment as creative director. Tell us about your first months at the house – how did you tackle things?
It was important for me to follow what was done in the past, but also turn a new chapter, a new page for the brand, with more love, more modernity and more international designs. We are trying to make sure everything we do is relevant on a global scale, while keeping the sense of the Britishness inside the product. This could be felt through the colours, treatment of fabrics – it could be in any of the details.
Did this motivate your decision to change the house’s logo?
I took on the role in July and then started designing in September, at which point I went through the archives and looked at all the bags, on which I saw the old Mulberry writing. I noticed how English it was... the way it was written was more unique. I realised that during their last changeover, they completely lost their DNA. I often like to go back to the way things started, and I wanted to bring back the uniqueness.
You’re obviously very respectful towards the roots of the house. How will you harness the Mulberry DNA while staying true to your own creative expression?
It’s important to understand what the customer wants successfully, and where it comes from. I went, saw all the products, saw all the knowledge and the craft, and I was thinking it’s British, but it can be stronger. I need to keep the heritage but also bring modernity. I want to understand the philosophy of the brand and why they are so popular in the United Kingdom. Because they respect the product, they made it functional and desirable in the past and there is a value behind that.
You were born in Spain and have since worked in both Paris and Italy. How did you get in to the mindset of a brand that is traditionally very British?
There were so many things I loved about England before I moved to it and because I’ve lived around Spain, Paris, Italy and Switzerland I’m very at ease with settling in to new places. It was really important for me to analyse the key elements that made it such a special British house but then look at how we can also make it more international.
With that in mind, talk us through the meaning behind your first collection.
I wanted to bring something fresh to every aspect of the brand, from the image to its advertising and, of course, the product itself. It’s for a strong character, who lives a global lifestyle, and this should be reflected in everything from the bags to the jewels, ready-to-wear and sunglasses. We want to focus on one item, but it’s really important that we appeal on a global scale when we do that. If it’s a bag, what is the message behind it, what was it designed for? Focusing on the attitude, movement, silhouette and coming up with something quite modern and quite cool, but in the meantime ensuring that everything is relevant – in a way, it’s like a new page, a new story for the brand.
So, how did you get inspired for this collection?
The street. I love when you have a coffee on a terrace or at a bar and you see all the girls walking with so much style. In my collection, you have so much attitude. You have all these different types of girls, who all want to be beautiful and they know how to dress, they know what looks nice on them. I just look at them. I ask myself why she has that bag or why she has that coat or why those shoes. So, you can identify the type of person based on how she dresses. My best way to evoke creation is when I am traveling and looking at people on the street.
How would you describe the Mulberry woman under your creative direction?
She is a strong woman, she is cool. For me, there is no age, because I love to design for everyone – everything I do needs to be flexible. She is quite powerful, and I love, love strong girls. Today, girls have more and more power, and it’s really nice and really important to me. They can be quite romantic and poetic but still completely in control.
Yes she is the boss of her life!
Yes and this is nice, I love that. She’s like my mother for example. In the past it was so much about men, they had the power to say and do anything but now it’s different, it’s all about her.
How does the creative process happen for you?
Well, anything I design needs to be right and have a function, so I’m not designing just for pleasure – I want to make everything useful and strong. So, if I need a bag, it needs to be right and functional or small or big or for business or for evening. We take care in everything we do; I go through the detail, construction, weight, function and price. You can make a more beautiful bag or coat, but if it’s too expensive, it will stay in the shop. I design to evoke desire among people, not for myself.
Yes it’s incredibly important; too many people forget that at times.
I know and when I look at everything I’ve done for this first collection I realise how accessible it all is. 950 euros, 750 euros, even the exotic shoes are reasonable. It feels good to make something that’s great quality with attention to craftsmanship and still attainable.
How do you ensure you are appealing to all women?
I have two sisters. If it’s not comfortable, they will say ‘I can’t wear it’. My sister had a baby and she needed a big bag with a long strap, because she had a lot of things as well as a baby to hold, and it’s not easy. If you travel, you understand the importance of how the bag needs to be organised inside. Because I’m living around girls, I try to understand what they need and bring them something special.
We are seeing a rise in young designer appointments at top roles in many established houses. What do you think about this shift?
It’s positive and I think it’s important for all young or old designers just to understand why they are designing. Also, to take care in their work and design incredibly strong, successful, desirable and powerful items.
Social media plays a huge role in the industry. How do you think Mulberry can utilise that?
It’s really dependent on each brand and how they want to play with it. I think it’s important in terms of communication, because some people don’t have access to certain magazines, and social media allows them to access these. So, I think that’s a nice message. You look at these bloggers that like a certain product and they voice their appreciation from places like Korea, Spain, Italy and South Africa. You feel like there is a desire coming and it’s a good window sometimes. I’m not always behind it, because it’s not my way to work, but there are people that are doing that for me. I think it’s the new way to communicate today, but I love
print. I love magazines, too, my corridor is full of them.
There’s also a shift in the way designers are showing their collections, like the way Burberry is pioneering ‘seasonless’ collections. What are your thoughts on this?
I understand, but it really depends on who you are and what you want to pass on as a message. I think creating desire is really important in fashion – you do everything with so much love, you cant treat it like a supermarket. If we want to do instant delivery, we can – we’ve already started to in some cases. The pre-collection, for example, is delivered in one or two weeks. But, I’m not sure how everyone will manage if its taken further than this. Discussing it is one thing, but actioning it is another. I’m not all for it because I think the dream of communication, press, adverting and creating something is special. It’s okay for one or two products and for super strong companies, but it’s not as easy for the younger companies. So, I think we have to be more clever.
What are your goals for the future of the house?
To make it stronger, more international and cater to new clients from Asia, the US and Middle East; also, coming up with new creative concepts that others will also adopt and move forward with.
