Marc Jacobs concluded the Women's Wear Daily apparel/retail CEO summit yesterday with musings on the nonexistent idea of American fashion, "reindeer games" of the CFDA, and the arbitrary thoughts that spark a collection.
Speaking about the evolution from his Eightees hard-edged Marc Jacobs collection in fall of 2009 to the frills of spring 2010, Jacobs said, "“I have a very short attention span and I lose interest in things quickly. I also think that what works — and maybe this is just an S&M relationship that I have with myself — but whatever I don’t like, or causes me pain, will usually end up yielding the best results. For me to embrace something that I find unappealing, it has to be the least like whatever I just did in order to sustain my interest for the next six months. But it’s really torturous."
On traveling back and forth from New York, where he works on the Marc Jacobs collection, to Paris for Louis Vuitton, Jacobs said he will always feel most at home in New York but feels blessed to be surrounded by the passion for fashion in Paris.
WWD attributed Jacobs' bicontinental status to the following quote dismissing the idea of American fashion, although we think it has more to do with him not wanting to subscribe to one specific design philosophy:
“Sometimes I get really adamant when I hear designers make blanket statements like ‘American fashion should be...’ It gets my rebellious hairs up or something. This whole idea of American fashion or Seventh Avenue fashion is nonsense. It’s archaic and old, and we don’t have to subscribe to those rules. We work out of a loft in SoHo and we show wherever we want. So if we want to show a dress made of 50 yards of taffeta, who says that has to be couture?"
And finally, it's no secret Jacobs isn't always happy with the results of the CFDA's award ceremonies, so why doe he continue to attend? For Anna, of course. "I only go to the CFDAs because if I don’t go, Anna Wintour calls up and says, ‘You have to go because you’re part of the American fashion industry, da da da da da,’ and you can’t say no to her."
[WWD]
Marc Jacobs
Two Things Marc Jacobs Does Not Believe In: American Fashion and The CFDA Awards
Marc Jacobs and Daphne Guinness Toast François Nars and His New Book
Daphne Guinness and Marc Jacobs hosted a party at Industria Superstudios in New York last night to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Nars cosmetics and the publication of Fraçois Nars' portrait book "15X15". The photographs (taken by Nars himself) were inspired by iconic images and cult Nars products and feature Jacobs, Guinness, and 13 other personalities—including Olivier Theyskens, Naomi Campbell, Amber Valletta, Shalom Harlow, Natasha Poly, and Amanda Lepore.
Although the fashion crowd was looking fabulous as ever, Daphne Guinness was the undisputed belle of the ball—fighting gravity in a nude pair of spring 2010 Alexander McQueen alien shoes. Check out the gallery below for photos from the event.
New York 11/12/09 Getty
Shopping: Feminine Frills With A Hard Edge

Daphne Guinness, Marc Jacobs, and Madonna Celebrate with Valentino
Daphne Guinness, Byrdie Bell, Julie Henderson, Lauren Remington Platt, Adrien Brody, Marc Jacobs, and Lorenzo Martone gathered at The Standard hotel in New York to join Valentino in celebrating the DVD launch of the documentary film Valentino: The Last Emperor. Madonna and Jesus Luz also attended the party, but avoided cameras by sneaking out a back exit post-event with Steven Klein.
New York 11/03/09. WireImage
Shopping: Great Capes
Erin Wasson and Blake Mycoskie Talk Collaboration at the 2009 ACE Awards Alongside Marc Jacobs, Alexander Wang, and More
The Accessories Council hosted their annual ACE Awards in NYC last night to honor the most influential movers and shakers in the industry. Tomas Maier was on hand to be celebrated as designer of the year for his work with Bottega Veneta, and Diane von Furstenberg smiled with a DvF-clad Molly Sims before heading in to accept the Accessory Visionary award. Hilary Rhoda took a turn down the carpet, while fellow model Agyness Deyn was there to pick up Burberry's Brand of the Year Award on behalf of her good friend Christopher Bailey.
We caught a moment with TOMS's Blake Mycoskie, who was honored with the year's Humanitarian Award. He posed for photos in a black velvet Dolce & Gabbana tux that he paired with a zebra-print pair of TOMS straight from his new holiday collection. Mycoskie arrived alongside a Victoria Beckham-wearing Erin Wasson, which got us thinking about a future Erin Wasson x TOMS collaboration. "Maybe!" Mycoskie said. "You know I need more and more talented people. I am running out of ideas." The pair apparently go way back after meeting in their native Texas a few years ago. "We're both from Texas," said Wasson. "I met him three years ago in Dallas during his first of his TOMS American tour. They were cruising around in an Airstream, going around store to store when they first were starting the company, and that's how we met."
Nine West's Fred Allard won the evening's Visionary Award, and he opened up about the trends he's sees being big this Winter — he finds the over-the-knee boots "very sexy" but thinks clogs are "not a major trend." Despite saying that celebrities like Halle Berry, Rihanna, and Eva Longoria are big fans of Nine West, Allard won't be hiring them for any ad campaigns in the near future. He said, "Celebrities are attached to a very strong personality. We decide to pick our models and change our models every two seasons and there is a reason behind that. I just don't want to be stuck with one vision of a woman. . . we are fashion shoes for the masses."
Lady Gaga, meanwhile, turned up over an hour late and quickly posed for the waiting cameras before heading in to accept the Stylemaker Award from Marc Jacobs. Other guests included Alexander Wang, Glenda Bailey, Christian Siriano, and a Zappos-friendly Betsey Johnson — click here to see the full list of winners.
New York 11/02/09. Getty and Pacific Coast News Online
Fashion in 50 Seconds 10/21/09 Karlie Kloss for Christian Dior
Karlie Kloss will appear in the spring 2010 Christian Dior advertising campaign.
Jerry Hall on writing poems and living with Mick Jagger's brood.
Anthropologie expands to Europe with London store debut.
Gucci launches iPhone app with a 24-hour music channel, travel tips, playlists and virtual turntables.
Marc Jacobs autographs bags to benefit Al Gore's nonprofit organization, The Climate Project.
Manolo Blahnik shows his colorful spring 2010 collection in London.
Source: Getty
Spring 2010 Trend Report: Army Surplus
More than a few designers must have hit Army Navy stores for inspiration this spring, as military detailing was used on everything from combat boot-style footwear (at Jean Paul Gaultier and Phi) to army fatique jackets (Rag & Bone, Marc Jacobs, Celine, and Louis Vuitton).
Since September we've been living in a now-sold-out military jacket we picked up from the Gap, but J.Crew has a great version, too, which is still available online.
Shopping: Brilliant Sequins









Nicoli
Vive Maria
Christian Louboutin
Latest Comments