The Canadian luxury brand has announced that Natasa Cagalj is the new creative director for Ports 1961 womenswear. Fiona Cibani will pass the baton as creative director, with the appointment, and will move up to take the post as President of Ports 1961.

After studying under the late Professor Louise Wilson at Central Saint Martins in London, Cagalj went on to work at Cerruti in Paris, before joining Lanvin where she worked as the right-hand designer to Alber Elbaz. Back in London she took up the post as head of design at Stella McCartney where she remained until 2012, before going freelance.

Fiona Cibani said, “Natasa is an incredibly talented individual and creative force. Her vision is perfectly in line with the Ports 1961 woman. I’m very excited to have Natasa on board and I strongly feel it’s time for a new chapter in the evolution of Ports 1961. This is a long term decision.”

The position will continue to be based in London, leading the Ports 1961 womenswear design team from a newly opened 500 square meter design studio in Clerkenwell.

The move comes just under six months after Milan Vukmirovic was appointed to take over the men's collections.