Marc Jacobs Making A Statement
His name is synonymous with fashion and all that it stands for. Marc Jacobs is unarguably a fashion legend and a visionary in his own right!
It wasn't the Scots alone who dared parade around in a skirt with such aplomb that you would think it is a fashion faux pas to not wear one! Marc Jacobs sported one at a red carpet event and posed happily for the shutterbugs that were ready to rip him apart in the media for his choices.
But being the eccentric designer that he is, he simply dismissed the skirt as something he felt comfortable in. But his unique style is not the only thing that makes him stand out in a crowd. His style, talent and charisma have had a deep impact on the world of fashion.
The Young Days
Born in 1963, he lost his father when he was seven and his mother remarried thrice after that which meant a lot of travelling around the state for young Marc and his two siblings.
As a teenager, Jacobs started working in the stockroom of a trendy New York clothing boutique, Charivari for free. And while folding sweaters and dressing mannequins, he befriended influential patrons of the fashion industry, including sportswear designer Perry Ellis.
In 1980 after a fallout with his parents and decided to move in with his paternal grandmother on the upper west side. And it was she, who introduced Jacobs to the world of knitting. He graduated from the High School of Art and Design in 1981 and soon thereafter took up a summer course on costume-making at Parsons school of design in Paris and later enrolled at the institute full-time.
He was awarded Parsons’s ‘Design Student of the Year’ for his senior collection of three op-art sweaters, hand-knit by his grandmother. The oversized trapezoidal pieces also won him the school’s ‘Chester Weinberg’ and ‘Perry Ellis Gold Thimble’ awards. Impressed with his designs, Robert Duffy, an executive for Ruben Thomas at that time, roped him in to design a ready-to-wear collection for the company's Sketchbook label.
Ties That Bind…
In April of 1985, Marc charmed the critics with his second collection for Sketchbook and also got included in a New York Times article on hot new designers, which termed his work young and irreverent with a whimsical, childlike grace and a hint of the exuberance of the 1960s.
Jacobs and Duffy finally established Marc Jacobs Inc, which was financed by the Canadian manufacturer, John Atkins. While the duo eventually got fired and the firm went bankrupt, it didn't douse their enthusiasm for fashion.
1988 was an eventful year — as Marc became the youngest designer ever to receive the ‘Perry Ellis award for new fashion talent’ from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). Following this, Perry Ellis executives hired Marc as creative director and Duffy as president of the women’s line.
His first collection for the brand, with an American-flag theme, debuted to a packed crowd at the Puck building in Manhattan’s Soho district.
Trying Times
In 1992, Jacobs showed his notorious but landmark Grunge collection comprising flannel shirts, thermals re-imagined in cashmere, layers and layers and all of it topped with a little crocheted skullcap. The press was smitten. The powers at Perry Ellis, however, were not. Jacobs and Duffy were fired shortly.
Jacobs and Duffy then formed their own licensing and design company, Marc Jacobs International Company in 1993. They made a comeback in 1994 with a small show held on Marc's birthday. Top models Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell walked at his show for free.
The Turning Point
In 1997, after months of negotiation and with the help of Bernard Arnault, Marc assumed the newly created post of artistic director at Louis Vuitton, where he was responsible for the luxury label’s leather goods as well as creation of the house’s first clothing line.
In 2000, Marc by Marc Jacobs debuted its Spring Summer collection, followed by the opening of their store in Manhattan next year.
Foray Into Eyewear
Marc Jacobs sunglasses are as daring as perhaps the designer himself. It combines street-savvy designs with the finesse of a finished product. Marc’s over-the-top eyewear are designed for those who like to create a statement with their accessory.
He was the one to introduce the world to the gravity-defying upside down sunglasses. He loves using prints, polka dots, gradients on aviators, oversized, round-shaped cat eye sunglasses as well as frames. He also indulges in a lot of colour blocking and dual-tones.
The Marc Jacobs fall/winter 2020/2021 eyewear collection presents new sunglasses and optical frames celebrating the eclectic personality of the brand with a variety of styles, in a creative and sophisticated exploration of contemporary trends with unique design and unexpected details.
It has the following categories.
- The limited edition aviator sunglasses
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The future vintage sunglasses
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The signature optical frames
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The madison optical frames
