The Great, Big, Giant Dream of Marc Jacobs
Marc Jacobs has never been afraid of a challenge.
He’s never cared much for politeness or propriety, choosing instead to risk it all for the sake of creating fashion that says something about freedom and choice. Most famously, he was fired from Perry Ellis for completely steering American sportswear in an unthinkable new direction at the time, designing for someone with less glam and more grit who, as Jacobs said at the time, is “a sophisticated woman who is secure in herself and free to do as she pleases.” Back then, it was revolutionary. So was the way he altered our perspectives about what luxury could look like while at Louis Vuitton. Clothes have never just been clothes for Jacobs. To him, clothes are mechanisms of change.
Today, the designer shows his collections when he wants. He clacks his nail art to the beat of his own drum on social media and has built a fashion empire on the idea that rebelliousness, through a deeply unserious lens, is the only dress code one needs in life.
Tonight in New York, not on the official start date of New York Fashion Week but days before, Jacobs laid down another gauntlet: to find courage in the face of complete and utter darkness.
At the New York Public Library, a single row of seats greeted guests, the likes of which included a gang of Real Housewives, Sofia Coppola, Anna Sui, and Rachel Feinstein. There were show notes on each of those seats, beginning with the word “courage” on the opening page. Jacobs followed: “With precious freedom, we dream and imagine without limitation, daring to be vulnerable in the face of criticism and failure, not to escape from reality but to help navigate, understand and confront it–exploring through curiosity, conviction, compassion, and love.”
These are powerful words to read at a time when the world around us is crumbling and our human rights are being eroded by the swift swipes of a single red pen. Seeing a fashion show can’t change any of it, but what Jacobs proposed this evening was a creative call to action. In order to combat the next four years and the years that will be affected beyond that, we have to take up as much space as humanly possible.
When the collection began to make its way down the library hallway, a place built on the idea that creative expression can change minds and hearts and entire civilizations, Jacobs’ intentions immediately came into focus. The first look? A puffed-up high-waist trouser with with an equally puffed-up long-sleeve shirt in a buttery yellow with a crazily exaggerated pointed-toe pump. It was like seeing commutercore in the wild, on steroids, with a look that says, “Get the fuck out of my way; I have places to be and wood to chop.”
More poufs and puffs and space-invader-y pieces followed: giant bubble hem skirts worn with knee-high boots fit for a Pixar princess version of The Craft. Double-breasted jackets with thick collars were paired with skirts made of two cut-out panels stitched together, while knits in pastel hues looked like someone took a tire inflator to the sleeves.
As the models stomped down the runway, the proportions got bigger and bigger. For the finale, Jacobs crafted extraordinary bulbous ball gowns and dresses that carried an essence of 1950s and 1960s silhouettes but with beautifully bulbous shapes, velvets, and sequins in jewel tones. It was as if he had imagined some alternative universe in which dressing was a means of piling on and blowing up—a delirious glamour where whimsy begets great taste.
This collection was, again, about Jacobs’s overall mission as a designer. It fell seamlessly into his personal history and design vernacular, with respectful references to Rei Kawakubo’s absurdist shapes and a focus on exaggerated, childlike form. For Jacobs, confidence and risk are always the bottom lines. He continues to push fashion to its uncomfortable edges, and therefore, Jacobs encourages the rest of us to have no fear, in our wardrobes and our lives. So, can we strive to think bigger, get louder, and dress more boldly?
Challenge accepted, Marc.
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