Marc Jacobs

SUMMARY

Born in New York in 1963, Marc Jacobs graduated from Parsons School Of Design following which he was the youngest designer to receive CFDA Perry Ellis Award for New Fashion Talent. An iconic figure in Fashion, Jacobs helped transform Louis Vuitton from a conventional luggage label into one of the most legendary fashion brands worldwide, before he left LVMH to focus on his own brand.

EARLY YEARS

Marc Jacobs was born and raised in New York. When he was seven, his father, an agent at the William Morris Talent Agency, passed away. His mother subsequently remarried thrice. As a teenager, he went to live with his paternal grandmother on the Upper West Side, who, having taught him as a child how to knit, encouraged his interest in fashion design. While at Parsons School Of Design, he won Perry Ellis Gold Thimble Award, Chester Weinberg Gold Thimble Award and Design Student Of The Year.

FASHION

At fifteen, Jacobs worked as a stock boy at Charivari, an avant-garde boutique in New York City. While still at Parsons, he designed and sold his first line of hand-knit sweaters to Charivari. In 1984, Jacobs was hired by clothing manufacturer Reuben Thomas Inc., for which he designed Sketchbook Label. With company executive Robert Duffy, he formed Jacobs Duffy Designs. Jacobs thereafter secured the financial backing to launch his own label and in 1987, he was the youngest designer to be awarded the fashion industry’s highest tribute, Council of Fashion Designers of America‘s Perry Ellis Award for “New Fashion Talent”. In 1989, Jacobs joined Perry Ellis as Vice President, Womens Design. Here, he earned widespread recognition for his grunge collection with iconic looks like floral dresses with combat boots. Jacobs was christened ‘guru of grunge’ by Women’s Wear Daily and CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year 1992 largely because of this collection, which ushered in the Nineties’ grunge look. His employment with Perry Ellis, however, was terminated—a decision believed by the industry to have been a result of his departure from the brand’s traditional image.

In 1993, Jacobs Duffy Designs Inc. created its own design and licensing company, Marc Jacobs International Company, L.P. The following year, Jacobs’s debuted a menswear line. In 1997, he opened his first boutique and—in exchange for the financial support towards his label—signed on as Creative Director of Louis Vuitton where he reportedly quadrupled the brand’s sales in ten years. Jacobs transformed the French luxury conglomerate, tasked with designing its first line of ready-to-wear. He collaborated with contemporary artists for the collections, including Stephen Sprouse; Takashi Murakami; Richard Prince; and Yayoi Kusama. The Murakami collaboration reportedly generated $300 million in sales.

In 2001, Marc Jacobs expanded his eponymous brand and launched a diffusion line Marc by Marc Jacobs, followed by a kidswear line, Little Marc Jacobs. In 2013 he stepped down as creative director of Louis Vuitton to focus on his own brand. That year he launched Marc Jacobs Beauty with actress Jessica Lange as face of the brand. However, his fashion empire subsequently struggled and in 2015 he closed Marc by Marc Jacobs. The move surprised many fashion insiders, given that British designers Luella Bartley and  Katie Hillier had been brought in to revamp the label.

PERSONAL LIFE

Marc Jacobs married his long time boyfriend Charly Defrancesco on 7 April 2019. He has an ongoing project titled, “Protect The Skin You’re In”, which has celebrities like Miley Cyrus, Eva Mendes, Victoria Beckham, Heidi Klum and Naomi Campbell posing semi- nude for T-shirts that raise awareness about melanoma; sales benefit research at NYU Langone Medical Center.

Curiosity

1987: CFDA Perry Ellis Award for New Fashion Talent

1991: CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year

1992: CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year

1997: CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year

1998: CFDA Accessory Designer of the Year

1999: CFDA Accessory Designer of the Year

2002: CFDA Menswear Designer of the Year

2003: CFDA Accessory Designer of the Year

2003: CFDA Accessory Designer of the Year

2005: CFDA Accessory Designer of the Year

2005: CFDA Accessory Designer of the Year

2010: CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year

2011: CFDA Womenswear Designer Of The Year

2011: CFDA Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award

2016: CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year

2019: MTV “Fashion Trailblazer Award” in partnership with CFDA

Plaque on the Fashion Walk of Fame in New York City Garment District

REFERENCES

https://www.marcjacobs.com/