Marc Jacobs named Diet Coke creative director

Marc Jacobs has been named Diet Coke’s new creative director.

The fashion designer will follow in the footsteps of Karl Lagerfeld and Jean Paul Gaultier by designing the packaging for the soft drink to celebrate its 30th anniversary in Europe.

Marc told WWD that the newly designed cans and bottles will be designed "whimsical and feminine", explaining: "We wanted it to be colorful and fun."

The first Diet Coke cans featuring the fashion guru’s designs will appear in stores in 11 European countries, including the UK and France, next month. There will be three different designs and each artwork will pay homage to a different decade – the ’80s, ’90s and ’00s – in Diet Coke’s 30 year history in the continent through themes of female empowerment, fashion illustrations and repetitive prints.

The 49-year-old designer will also star in a campaign shot by Stephane Sednaoui, appearing shirtless in a photo booth-style pictorial.

He said: "I think glamour and sex sells just about everything.

"I still think it’s hysterical people want me to take my shirt off. You know, I’m going to be 50 in two months, so I guess I should be glad. It feels like the decade of me taking my shirt off."