Emma Hill to step out on her own with the launch of accessories line

London - Emma Hill, Mulberry's former creative director is set to make a stellar return to the industry with the launch of her own accessories line, which is suitably named Hill & Friends.

Together with co-founder Georgia Fendley - another former Mulberry employee - the two are set to launch their new label during a presentation at London Fashion Week in September, according to WWD. Hill & Friends' Spring/Summer 2016 collection will feature a special "see-now-buy-now" capsule collection which has been pre-sold to Net-a-porter.com and will be available for sale the day after the label's presentation in London and on the label's own site Hillandfriends.com.

Emma Hill to launch own line during LFW

All of the accessories for the label will be manufactured in the UK and Hill and Fendley, who are the majority owners of the label, reportedly have plans in the pipeline to expand the label's offering in the near future to include ready-to-wear. The duo is also said to be in search of two retail locations in New York and London, for the label's first stores.

The new label is Hill's first significant creative venture since she left her role at Mulberry two years ago. Hill, who held roles at Gap, Marc Jacobs and Chloé, first joined the team at Mulberry in 2008, when she succeeded Stuart Vevers after he took the role to work at Spanish label Loewe. He is currently at Coach. During her six year tenure at the British fashion house, Hill was credited with breathing new life into the brand, building up its outerwear, footwear, accessories and ready-to-wear division whilst remaining true to the brand's British roots.

She also spearheaded the brand's overseas expansion and successive growth into new markets, but reportedly left Mulberry after disputes with the brand's former chief executive Bruno Guillon concerning its "creative and operational strategy." Her departure was not extremely well received within the industry, with shares in Mulberry falling close to 9 percent on the London Stock Exchange the day her exit was announced.

Since then the Somerset-based group has had a turbulent time and has issued a string of profit warnings and seen the departure of its chief executive. Mulberry has been functioning with a creative director for over eighteen months but is set to welcome former Celine designer Johnny Coca, to the role next month.