MARC JACOBS - GUIDES TO DESIGNER FASHION

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The name Marc Jacobs is now synonymous with the aesthetic of avant-garde fashion with a streetwear twist. Labelled as “one of the world’s most influential designers”, the magic behind his brand essentially stems from the fact that he does not follow the rules. Jacob’s anti-establishment, anti-adult and anti-slick attitude has become a cornerstone of his eponymous high-fashion label.
The brand is marketed toward the urban woman, who mixes downtown attitude and uptown glamour. The cool girls of the Red Carpet. From grunge to Louis Vuitton.
For more than two decades, Marc Jacobs has reigned as one of the most exciting and talented American designers of his generation, and along with Tom Ford and Alexander Wang is one of the only true successors to the American fashion mantle of Calvin, Donna and Ralph.
But once upon a time he was just Marc Jacobs, a kid from a non-observant Jewish family in central New York. Growing up, Jacob’s never had it easy. His father died when Jacobs was just seven and his mother, who had been married three times, was mentally ill and largely absent.
By the time Jacobs became a teenager, he had been whisked off to live with his paternal grandma. Where he finally experienced all the glitz and glamour he had been missing in his adolescence.
Now residing in an apartment aptly named ‘The Majestic’ on the Upper West Side in the late 70’s, Jacobs was just a stone throw away from all that New York City had to offer.
And New York in the 70’s had a lot to offer. Revered for it’s dangerous, edgy and exciting aesthetic, it was a time when outcasts flocked to the city for a fresh start. As long as you were willing to brave the blistering cold winters and accept the fact that a mugging or two was part of the lifestyle, then New York didn’t discriminate.
In fact, the wilder the hair, clothes and personality; the better.
It was during these years that Jacob’s spent in Manhattan where he began to foster an interest in fashion. He attended the High School of Art and Design while also working as a stock-boy at a clothing boutique called Charivari.
Described as the cult boutique of fashions cutting edge, Charivari brought avant-garde clothes to the previously unfashionable Upper West Side of Manhattan. And in the process, helped revolutionise retail and fashion itself. Originating from humble beginnings, Charivari sold respectable clothes in a less than respected neighbourhood. It was the perfect blend of the streets and culture. It’s rise to prominence coincided with the gentrification with the Upper West Side.
Jacobs got in at the ground floor and witnessed first-hand the powerful combination of street style and high fashion. And while the avant-garde boutique has long been defunct, it’s aesthetic has lived on through Jacob’s himself.
Edited by Cory Greenway
Narration by Annalisa Piccio