Ever since Reed Krakoff announced that he would be stepping down from the role of Creative Director of Coach to focus on his eponymous label, speculation has been rife about just who would fill his shoes.

There’s barely a designer in the industry that hasn’t been touted to be making the move – the soon to be departing Mulberry Emma Hill, Marc Jacobs, , Clare Waight Keller and Derek Lam were all rumoured to be possibilities.

But when it came down to it Coach made an obvious choice: Stuart Vevers. The British accessories designer cut his teeth at and , followed by a much applauded two year stint at which earned him Accessories Designer of the Year award at the 2006 British Fashion Awards. He’s been based in Madrid since 2007, working as Creative Director at Loewe, and is generally regarded as one of the best in the business. A pair of safe hands, then, to steer Coach into the future, and one without any other label to distract his attention, a fact that may have helped him bag the post, according to WWD.

‘Coach is an exceptional brand and company that I’ve long admired for its rich heritage,’ says Vevers. ‘I am excited to drive Coach’s next stage of transformation.’ He will oversee the women’s and men’s collections, as well as ad campaigns and stores. There’s no word as yet on when he will take up his post.

We talk to Stuart Vevers about his latest Loewe collection...