By the age of 15, he was attending the High School of Art and Design during the day and, after school, working at the upscale clothing boutique Charivari. The staff of Charivari allowed their young stockboy to design sweaters for the store in between his tasks of folding clothes and dressing mannequins. The work helped Jacobs land a spot at the coveted Parsons School for Design, where he stood out among his classmates by winning both the Perry Ellis Gold Thimble Award and Design Student of the Year at graduation in Just after graduating, at the age of 21, he designed his first collection for the label Sketchbook for Reuben Thomas.
He cited the visually rich films Amadeus and Purple Rain his inspirations for the line. Jacobs took over as the women's-wear designer for Perry Ellis, where he won the prestigious CFDA prize for Womenswear Designer of the Year an award he would win again in In , after Perry Ellis shuttered its manufacturing operations—and after Jacobs sent out a "grunge" collection for the label that critics loved but the company hated — Jacobs struck out on his own.
With financial backing from his former bosses, he started his own company with longtime business partner Robert Duffy. The Marc Jacobs label soon proved a success. In , Jacobs was named creative director of the Louis Vuitton house of luxury goods in Paris. The job was a professional triumph, but it brought new pressures that threw Jacobs's personal life into a tailspin.
I don't know if that cuts it anymore. The Marc Jacobs. The new vertical will evoke the spirit of Jacobs's runway collections, but is meant to provide customers with a wide range of wardrobe staples that will be built upon each season. Aside from a few key items — sneakers, a tracksuit, the hoodie, a graphic T-shirt — The Marc Jacobs isn't particularly trend-driven, but Jacobs insists this was a well-considered choice.
And if our instincts aren't relevant, then our instincts aren't relevant. But you know, then that's the way it is. The first campaign for the line, photographed by Hugo Scott with casting by the Midland Agency, was styled by Lotta Volkova, best known for helping create and inspire the look made popular by Demna Gvasalia at Vetements and then Balenciaga — the latter of which is projected to bring in over a billion dollars in revenue this year , and is Kering's fastest-growing brand.
Aesthetic similarities aside, Jacobs makes a point to note that he's not banking on creating the next must-have "It" item — though he's had a few in the past, most notably the early aughts-era "Stam" bag — to help him stay afloat.
In other words, he's not on a mission to one-up Gvasalia's sock boots or Triple S sneakers. Like, if only you could come up with something that everybody can identify as yours and get it out there before somebody else does and [have it] worn by somebody we recognize, then, you know, it's the key to success.
First of all, that's easier said than done. If anybody could do it, then why wouldn't everyone do it? Jacobs is also wary of putting too much stock in nostalgia, despite the fact that The Marc Jacobs consists of several reissued styles and ideas from his past collections. It looks good to me based on how I see the world and what I think of things. But maybe it's not right; maybe it's done with a certain hand and in a certain spirit that doesn't feel as relevant. As was the case during his stint as the creative director of women's at Louis Vuitton, The Marc Jacobs is heavy on the collaborations.
DUFFY: Well, the Interview readers are probably not interested in any of your bowel movements or stomach problems or my corporate consultant stuff. I made a list of questions. You know what I did?
DUFFY: One of the questions that most of them asked—because you have become such a celebrity and have courted the media for a long time—is whether that approach to fame ever backfired? But there was a whole period where I was very happy to stay in.
I was in my studio for many hours a day—sometimes working and sometimes sleeping. But when I went through this physical transformation and my diet changed and I went to the gym, I felt much more confident about myself. I like being out there. Sometimes that attention is great, like when we get attention for doing a great show or our sales are good or even attention for walking down the street and looking sexy.
So I think about it logically. If we built a pile of crap then nobody would care what I ate for lunch. For the first 25 years of our careers, no one wanted to hear from us, and now we have five million people who want to be involved somehow.
I started Twittering and we had so many followers, but then the corporate lawyers took me off it. So how do you feel about that? As our company gets bigger, you and I seem to be more censored.
It frustrates me. Does it frustrate you? I am Marc Jacobs by birth, but we are Marc Jacobs by the company that we built. Every action has a reaction, and with everything we do there is a consequence. But I know we both have our frustrations about this subject—probably you more than I because you protect me from all of it. What is your honest take on New York fashion? Now considered a classic, the release coincided with the height of its creators popularity.
Through the s and early s, the designer also retained artistic authority at Louis Vuitton , credited with refreshing the French heritage brand by injecting contemporary flair into its designs. Likely his most influential contribution was the introduction of recurring artist collaborations, which saw artists like Stephen Sprouse, Richard Prince, and Yayoi Kusama adorn accessories with vibrant colors and novel prints.
It was at this time that the brand unexpectedly announced that it would be discontinuing its affordable luxury line, Marc by Marc Jacobs, which was thought to be a highly profitable portion of the business. Duffy, both a brand co-founder and longtime motivator of Jacobs, stepped down from his position as president in as well, only to be followed by a list of short lived hires, including former Kenzo head Eric Marechalle and former Baja East designer John Targon.
However, as store closures and lagging revenue evidence, popularity does not always equate to merchandise sold. It appears though, that the once detached Jacobs, along with his self-titled label, is finally turning a corner. Marc Jacobs has seen a resurgence in reputation among young celebrities and consumers.
0コメント