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Marc Jacobs apologizes for starting show an hour and a half late: 'We all have to be a little more sensitive and flexible'

Marc Jacobs ruffled feathers with his delayed show. (Photo: Randy Brooke/WireImage)
Marc Jacobs ruffled feathers with his delayed show. (Photo: Randy Brooke/WireImage)

Marc Jacobs was tardy to the party — getting a seemingly frustrated Anna Wintour out of her seat and sparking rumors that he purposely delayed his Wednesday night New York Fashion Week event to keep attendees from making Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty show in time.

The fashion designer was scheduled to start his runway show at 6 p.m., but things didn’t get underway until 7:30 p.m. The delay kept show attendees such as Vogue editor-in-chief Wintour — who was photographed walking around to stretch her legs — cooling their designer heels.

Anna Wintour appeared to be put out by the delay. (Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Marc Jacobs)
Anna Wintour appeared to be put out by the delay. (Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Marc Jacobs)

Many in the fashion community had accused Jacobs of everything from bad etiquette to pettiness — if indeed the late start was meant to sabotage Rihanna. The backlash prompted the 55-year-old designer to clear the air with an apology posted to Instagram late Thursday night.

View this post on Instagram

I sincerely apologize to anyone and everyone who was inconvenienced by my lateness at our Spring/Summer 2019 fashion show. For anyone interested, below is not a list of excuses but rather a list of facts. I fully understand people have plans, lives, commitments, flights, families to return to, etc and that I fully RESPECT. I’ve heard, read and reflected on your frustration, anger and outrage. If you choose to read the below, I hope that you can find your own place of understanding. 1. The night before the show at midnight, I believed that we would absolutely be starting at 6pm, as planned and it was my intention to do so. 2. At 3:30pm on the day of the show, I became aware that we would most likely be an hour late. In good faith and hope it was communicated that the show would start at 630pm and that was a mistake. 3. After years of being beyond punctual and once again, with every intention of remaining so, the fact is, more is always expected from us with fewer and fewer resources. That is not unique to me personally or us as a company. I have learned that I need to adjust to our realities. 4. It was my wishful thinking that we could accomplish all that needed to be done for this show with the circumstances we faced. I was wrong. Not because everyone didn’t make every effort or give it their all and more, life is just that way sometimes. I’ve always been told that, “if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” With our shows, I always strive to present 7-10 minutes of live fashion theatre that hopefully makes some kind of statement or touch the audience in some way both aesthetically and emotionally. I think we all have to be a little more sensitive and flexible to the fragile state of the live experience. I hope anyone reading this will reflect on my thoughts as I have on yours. Sincerely and respectfully, Marc

A post shared by Marc Jacobs (@themarcjacobs) on Sep 13, 2018 at 8:14pm PDT

“I’ve heard, read, and reflected on your frustration, anger, and outrage,” he wrote, using a Photoshopped image of the tardiness-prone White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland.

Jacobs went on to explain that he fully intended to start on time, but outside factors and miscommunications thwarted his plans.

“After years of being beyond punctual and once again, with every intention of remaining so, the fact is, more is always expected from us with fewer and fewer resources,” he said. “That is not unique to me personally or us as a company. I have learned that I need to adjust to our realities.

“It was my wishful thinking that we could accomplish all that needed to be done for this show with the circumstances we faced. I was wrong. Not because everyone didn’t make every effort or give it their all and more; life is just that way sometimes. I’ve always been told that, “if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.'”

Though he called the reasons for the delay “facts” rather than a “list of excuses,” Jacobs did ask fans to be more understanding of his work.

“With our shows, I always strive to present 7-10 minutes of live fashion theater that hopefully makes some kind of statement or touch the audience in some way both aesthetically and emotionally,” he continued. “I think we all have to be a little more sensitive and flexible to the fragile state of the live experience.”

So: All’s fair in love and fashion? Either way, Jacobs’s statement was met with support, with several fashion insiders declaring the show “worth the wait.”

But maybe bring a book and a padded seat cover next time just in case.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

All the boldest, brightest pantsuits from New York Fashion Week
Fashion insider reveals the secret reason brands don’t use more plus-size models
‘So twisted’: Plus-size women experience major shopping injustices, says designer

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