Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Somewhere Over the Rainbow: Marc Jacobs Fall 2010

The Marc Jacobs fall 2010 presentation, as always held at the Lexington avenue armory, was typical of his collections. If this were being said of any other designer, it would certainly carry a negative connotation, but the opposite is true of Jacobs. In fact, his intention was not to focus on visual neologism; as the designer remarked after the show: "there's so much striving for newness now that newness feels less new."

As obtuse and arch as such a statement might be, Jacobs certainly has a point. He is the only American designer who doesn't rely on two or three leitmotifs that flesh out every single collection (see Donna Karan, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, and Oscar de la Renta). Herein lie the genius and the enigma of the Marc Jacobs brand: his clothing is consistently identifiable, but never repetitive. One season riffs on punk rock, the next ruminates on 1940's pantsuits, and the next is a collection inspired by Marcel Duchamp... but all look like nothing except Marc Jacobs. And the reason behind this is that everything is, at some point, a Marc Jacobs signature. His oeuvre is so vast that it is impossible for his clothing to not be self-referential, and in this case nothing could be better.

What this translates to both on the runway as well as for the customer is singular pieces that aren't overly intellectualized, and somehow manage to be dramatic, unique, and utterly wearable simultaneously. Fall 2010: lingerie layers, pilgrim coats, heavy knits, sequins, Mongolian lamb fur, romantic dresses, drop waists, bows, ankle socks, optical wovens, antique velvet, grunge...all fresh, all familiar, all Marc.
















































Photos: Marcio Madeira / FirstView.com

7 comments:

Madame Lamb said...

middle right sweater and bottom right dress are MAJOR!

Unknown said...

Your top right and middle left pictures isn't coming up...
But i must say, the sequined cardigan is gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

i don't know that black dress 4 down on the left is pretty tight. raise it 3"-4" inches. i'm in.

swan said...

Love the movement of the clothes and feeling of play!
wild blessings,
swan

Ally said...

top left is beautifulll!!! oh how i love!

Teer Wayde said...

The fur oh my I'm drooling!

JasminxxxJ said...

I just love Marc Jacob's clothing. There is a shop in the UK called Pie that sells fantastic MJ clothes. Oh and the handbags are to die for.

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