luella bartley

For the first time since Marc by Marc Jacobs was founded in 2000, someone who isn't named Marc Jacobs will be in creative control of the brand.

Jacobs and his business partner, Robert Duffy, announced today that they've hired British designer Katie Hillier as the new creative director of Marc by Marc Jacobs. Hillier, who Duffy told WWD "is allowed to staff the team any way she wants," has in turn hired fellow designer Luella Bartley as design director for women's ready-to-wear.

Hillier had been freelancing for Marc by Marc Jacobs for a decade before joining the team in a full-time capacity, designing everything from watches, jewelry, and handbags. Bartley designed her own line, called Luella, from 1999 to 2009.

Duffy said Jacobs is "still the boss" — he will still be an advisor, but will focus mostly on his mainline and duties with Louis Vuitton — and added that the menswear team will continue to report to its current leader, Karl Aberg. But Duffy also noted that he wanted to shake things up at Marc by Marc Jacobs because things were "getting a little stale."

"We have an issue with the ready-to-wear. I knew it because I pay very close attention to company-owned retail stores and I knew what was happening. We started out really strong in denim, and then we just let it go."

But the company seems confident that some new blood will help turn things around.

"I am very excited to have Katie here in her new role," Jacobs said. "Her creativity and energy inspires me and everybody she works with. She is a great leader. She is a team player and a great friend to Robert and me."

Photo: Katie Hillier at the 2012 British Fashion Awards.

>> In celebration of its fifth year collaborating with designers, Target will re-release 34 dresses from 17 past Go International participants — to hit most Target stores and online at Target.com on March 13, 2011.

The Go International Designer Collective line, as its being called, will feature signature dresses from the past Target lines of Luella Bartley, Tara Jarmon, Paul & Joe, Behnaz Sarafpour, Proenza Schouler, Libertine, Alice Temperley, Erin Fetherston, Jovovich-Hawk, Rogan, Richard Chai, Jonathan Saunders, Thakoon, Tracy Feith, Rodarte, Zac Posen, and Tucker. Only Patrick Robinson of Gap declined the opportunity to work with Target again, saying he had other commitments. Images of the collection, which will be in stores through April 10, 2011, are expected to be available in February.

>> Luella Bartley folded her Luella label last November — and while she says she doesn't know what's next, she's sure that the Luella girl isn't gone. “My lifestyle changed, but she stayed, which is nice,” Bartley — who has been living full-time in the Cornwall farmhouse she shares with her photographer boyfriend, David Sims, and their three children, since Luella shuttered — explains. She adds that her next step may not be about dressing the Luella girl — she's thinking of turning her into a graphic novel.

Bartley doesn't seem torn up about the end of the label, for which she had to commute daily into London. “It’s a difficult thing, being a woman, trying to have a successful business, be creative and do the best by your family. I sold it to myself that I could do it all,” she tells the Times UK. “You can, but not the way my business was set up. It was set up for the old me. Maybe I was moving away from that life without realising it.”

“To anybody urban and creative, it obviously sounds like a drop-out situation,” she continues. “Letting go has been the biggest lesson. I used to think that if someone wasn’t successful, it was because they were crap, but now I realise that if people aren’t successful, it’s probably because they aren’t that bothered . . . You think that everyone’s going to forget who you are. But I had a chat with Phoebe [Philo, the creative director of Céline], who I admire so much. She took three years out and made sure her kids were secure. Then, when she was ready, she got the deal she wanted. You’ve just got to know what you want. I know I’ve done the right thing. I don’t mourn anything. I loved what it was, but I’m happy to be out."

>> Luella Bartley's Style Guide to Be Released Oct. 14 —After a year-long delay, Luella Bartley has finally finished her book, titled Luella's Guide to English Style — her main project while between design jobs. The style guide, which Bartley wrote completely by herself according to her publisher, includes the designer's take on English street style and British style icons such as Kate Moss and The Duchess of Devonshire. "My aim is simply to dig up the roots of and, more importantly, show my unerring appreciation and devotion to those contrived subtleties and that blatant contrariness that makes British women so staggeringly adept in the art of expression through style," Bartley writes in the introduction. The book, which comes complete with photographs, drawings, and even diagrams, is currently available for pre-order in the UK — and is out Oct. 14. We're waiting to hear back from the publishers regarding US availability. [Vogue UK]

>> Is book curating the new way for designers to bide time between jobs? First Olivier Theyskens, whose work is due out next month, and and now Luella Bartley, who lost her investor and manufacturer in November, is working on a book.

Tentatively titled Luella's Guide to English Style, the book was originally supposed to be published last Fall, but was put on hold after Bartley's time commitments prevented deadlines from being made. Now, with her label in the balance and thus more time on her hands, Luella has taken up the project again and hopes to publish the work in September 2010, in time for Spring 2011 London Fashion Week.

According to her publishers, Fourth Estate: "Unfortunately she couldn't deliver on time before but now we've decided on September. She's doing all the writing herself. It's a style guide."  The content will be divided between English street style and British style icons. "It's not going to be just a book about fashion. It's a work of social anthropology."

Luella Bartley will launch a book in September dedicated to London street style and English style icons.

Tilda Swinton is photographed by Ryan McGinley for Pringle of Scotland spring 2010.

Fashion's obsession with 13-year-old girls as expressed through Lolita looks on the spring runways.

Jason Wu takes on his first non-fashion collaboration, designing cameras for GE.

New trendy workout alert: Kate Moss loves to synchronize swim.

Check out Anya Hindmarch's colorful spring handbag collection.

Source: Getty

This year, we mourned the deaths of the beloved Farrah Fawcett, photographer Irving Penn, Gap's co-founder Donald Fisher, and the king of pop, Michael Jackson. Each made a huge impact in the world and we will always remember them for their stellar style and contribution to the industry. Also recognized were shuttered fashion houses Christian Lacroix and Luella Bartley — what a shame. Let's take a moment and pay respect to these fashion greats.

Remembering Charlie's Angel, Farrah Fawcett	RIP: Irving Penn	Christian Lacroix Goes Down
A Tribute to Michael Jackson	RIP: Donald Fisher, Co-Founder of the Gap	The Demise of Luella Bartley

>> What Are Luella Bartley and Martin Margiela Up To? —Olivier Theyskens has taken his time between labels to put together a book, but what about Martin Margiela, who has officially severed ties with his namesake label, and Luella Bartley, who lost her financing and is to ship her Spring 2010 collection? Margiela wanted to walk away from fashion and has instead been pouring his energies into painting; Bartley, meanwhile, has been acting as creative consultant to Liberty and retreated to Cornwall to look after her three children and decide what to do next. [WWD, Telegraph UK]

UPDATE: Apparently Margiela was in Los Angeles recently, looking for homes in West Hollywood. [@BinkleyOnStyle]

After showing a magical Spring '10 collection at Paris Fashion Week, it's shocking to hear that Luella has ceased all operations. The brand's licensee, Club 21, just announced it has "taken the decision not to invest further in its relationship with Luella Bartley Limited."

Furthermore, the production of Luella's Spring '10 collection has been put to a stop since its ready-to-wear producer, Carla Carini, had to shutter its doors unexpectedly.

"This is a very disappointing situation for everyone involved with the brand," said Bartley. "I love the Luella character and hope that after we have survived this challenging time the Luella girl can have an exciting future ahead of her, whichever incarnation she takes on next. We have a number of options open to us, and are considering these over the coming months." Tear.