Marc Jacobs: Infallible Trendsetter
By Sarah Stefanson March 1, 2010
Photo: Ed Kavishe, fashionwirepress, Wikimedia Commons
Marc Jacobs’ career has been nothing short of meteoric. He has created a world famous brand, attracted celebrity fans and been asked to take an important position at the legendary Louis Vuitton. His unfailing vision for women’s wear has been praised and rewarded.
Jacobs, the son of Jewish American parents, was born in New York City where he attended Parsons The New School of Design. His design prowess was recognized early on and rewarded with the Perry Ellis Gold Thimble Award, the Chester Weinberg Gold Thimble Award and the Design Student of the Year Award in 1984. During his time at Parsons, Jacobs created and marketed a line of hand-knit sweaters. Parsons was also the site of one of most important meetings of Jacobs’ life. At a dinner put together by the school, Jacobs made the acquaintance of Robert Duffy who would become his business partner and lifelong friend.
The designer Perry Ellis died in 1986 and two years later the company hired Jacobs as creative director and Duffy as president, acting on the buzz surrounding the up-and-coming twosome. The arrangement was not to last, however. In 1992, Jacobs’ grunge collection made waves with layers of flannel shirts and thermal underwear (Jacobs’ version in cashmere, of course). That collection saw Jacobs and Duffy fired from Perry Ellis, as the company’s bigwigs weren’t convinced that the pair had a handle on what women would actually pay for.
Undeterred, Jacobs and Duffy founded Jacobs Duffy Designs Inc., the company that still exists today. They received financial backing from Onward Kashiyama USA, Inc. in 1986, which they put toward producing Jacobs’ first clothing line under his own name. He was awarded one of the fashion industry’s most illustrious awards in 1987, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Perry Ellis Award for New Fashion Talent. At the age of 23, he was the youngest ever recipient of the award. In 1992, he received another honour from the CFDA: The Women’s Designer of the Year Award.
In 1997, Jacobs and Duffy were convinced to join Louis Vuitton, which would produce their first ready-to-wear line under the Marc Jacobs label. Jacobs was named Artistic Director and Duffy, Studio Director. The partners took advantage of the cash flow to open their first store on Mercer Street in Soho. These days, there are over 100 Marc Jacobs stores around the world.
In the spring of 2001, Jacobs introduced his secondary line, Marc by Marc Jacobs. Later he added a children’s line, Little Marc. These lines have helped him win multiple awards from the CFDA including Womenswear Designer of the Year, Accessories Designer of the Year and Menswear Designer of the Year.
His oversized glasses and limp hair became instantly recognizable around the world and he could soon count celebrities like Sophia Coppola, Winona Ryder, Christina Ricci and Chloë Sevigny among his fans and friends. But along with his fame came scrutiny. In 2008, Esquire writer Rob Millan accused Jacobs of plagiarizing a scarf originally designed by Gösta Olofsson of Sweden in the 1950s. Jacobs subsequently settled the issue by offering monetary compensation to Olofsson’s son.
Underneath his triumphs and achievements, Jacobs was still terrified of failure and since college he had countered that fear with alcohol and drugs. Once he began working at Louis Vuitton, his hard partying got out of control creating problems among his staff and his friends. He was prone to flying into outrageous fits, neglecting to show up to work and getting kicked off airplanes due to his behaviour. Duffy, as well as friends including Anna Wintour and Naomi Campbell, rallied around him as he entered a rehab centre in Arizona.
These days his personal life seems to have sorted itself out. Since March of 2009, he has been happily engaged to Brazilian advertising executive, Lorenzo Martone, and rumours that the two have tied the knot swirl through the gossip chain on a regular basis.
Meanwhile, Jacobs and Duffy have used their massive success to help raise money and awareness for over 60 charities in communities where their stores are located.
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Submitted on March 1, 2010 in Who's Who.
Sarah is our Western Canadian correspondent. She recently left a long-standing position as editor and writer for TheSoko.com, DriverSense.com & LiveDress.com to focus on book and novel writing. Sarah continues contribute weekly articles to AskMen.ca and Models & Moguls. Sarah thinks she might have been a model if it weren’t for the blessing of Slavic hips and thighs.
Sarah Stefanson has contributed 64 articles to Models & Moguls.
