Marc Jacobs
Founder & Designer, Marc Jacobs
The decorated American designer was the first to introduce '90s grunge to the catwalk and grew his namesake brand into a global fashion force.
Having helped to transform Vuitton from a staid luggage label into one of the most valuable fashion brands in the world, Jacobs has focussed on his own Marc Jacobs brand in both its main and diffusion ranges since his departure from the LVMH brand in 2013, overseeing successful fragrance, cosmetics, books and stationery launches in the years since its founding.
In 2015, Marc Jacobs folded its popular, lower-priced Marc by Marc Jacobs line. The move surprised many fashion insiders, given that British designers Luella Bartley and Katie Hillier had been brought in to revamp the contemporary label only two years earlier. But, by June 2018, the Marc Jacobs brand had been losing more than €50 million annually for the last few years, with flat revenues over that time period, estimated Luca Solca, then head of luxury goods research at Exane BNP Paribas.
In 1981, following his graduation from the High School of Art and Design, Jacobs enrolled in Parsons the New School for Design, undertaking a degree in womenswear design. Jacobs’s senior year project consisted of three oversized sweaters hand-knit by his grandmother. He was awarded the young designer the school’s Chester Weinberg and Perry Ellis Gold Thimble award, as well as Design Student of the Year.
In 1986, Jacobs and former Reuben Thomas executive Robert Duffy launched their first design venture under the Marc Jacobs label, earning Jacobs the industry’s interest and a CFDA/Perry Ellis award for New Fashion Talent. In 1989, Jacobs joined Perry Ellis to oversee its womenswear, but was famously fired by management in 1993, following an unsuccessful grunge collection. Jacobs and Duffy launched the Marc Jacobs International company shortly after, creating a few independent collections, before selling 96 percent of the shareholding to LVMH in 1997. The sale coincided with Jacobs' appointment as Louis Vuitton's artistic director.
Critical to Jacobs’ creative strategy at Vuitton were the designer’s hugely successful collaborations with contemporary artists, including Stephen Sprouse (2001), Takashi Murakami (2005), Richard Prince (2007) and Yayoi Kusama (2012). The Murakami collaboration alone generated $300 million in sales.
Holding a slew of titles to his name in recognition of his influential work, Jacobs’ numerous industry accolades include a series of CFDA awards, a plaque on the Fashion Walk of Fame in New York City’s Garment District, as well as commendation as a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres for his contribution to French fashion. Jacobs and Duffy jointly received Fashion Group International’s Superstar Award, and Jacobs was named Womenswear Designer of the Year by the CFDA in 2016.
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The people shaping the global fashion industry, curated by the editors of The Business of Fashion, based on nominations and on-the-ground intelligence from around the world.
ExploreWhat is The BoF 500?
The people shaping the global fashion industry, curated by the editors of The Business of Fashion, based on nominations and on-the-ground intelligence from around the world.
ExploreMarc Jacobs: Wayward in Wonderland
At a quirky runway show ahead of New York Fashion Week, it was as if Mary Weiss of the Shangri-Las had found her way to Tokyo and sat down to share a Marlboro with Rei Kawakubo.
At Marc Jacobs, Vive La Revolution
The designer’s latest outing could be read as a sullen celebration of the revolutionary impulse, writes Lynn Yaeger.
Putting the Marc in Marc Jacobs
Even workwear can be couture-ified in the hands of Marc Jacobs, whose off-calendar shows remain primetime draws for the New York fashion industry.
The BoF Podcast | The Genesis of the Modern Luxury Fashion Industry
Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui speak to BoF’s Tim Blanks about their new docuseries, which examines the formation of LVMH and Kering and how designers John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Marc Jacobs and Tom Ford helped bosses Bernard Arnault and François Pinault build a ‘Kingdom of Dreams.’
The BoF Podcast | The Genesis of the Modern Luxury Fashion Industry
Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui speak to BoF’s Tim Blanks about their new docuseries, which examines the formation of LVMH and Kering and how designers John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Marc Jacobs and Tom Ford helped bosses Bernard Arnault and François Pinault build a ‘Kingdom of Dreams.’
How Fashion Went Corporate: Creativity, Commerce and Collateral Damage
Tim Blanks talks to the creators of ‘Kingdom of Dreams,’ a new documentary series on how the corporatisation of luxury fashion made superstars of John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Tom Ford and Marc Jacobs, and built gilded empires for Bernard Arnault and François Pinault.
How Fashion Went Corporate: Creativity, Commerce and Collateral Damage
Tim Blanks talks to the creators of ‘Kingdom of Dreams,’ a new documentary series on how the corporatisation of luxury fashion made superstars of John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Tom Ford and Marc Jacobs, and built gilded empires for Bernard Arnault and François Pinault.
The United States of Stuff
From Fendi to Tibi, the opening days of New York Fashion Week were unapologetically commercial, reports Lauren Sherman.
Inside the Shakeup at Marc Jacobs
Designer Marc Jacobs, CEO Eric Marechalle and LVMH Fashion Group boss Sidney Toledano speak exclusively to BoF about what it took to get the brand back on track.
The Fashion World Remembers Virgil Abloh
The industry pays tribute to the much-loved designer, whose death was announced on Sunday.
Marc Jacobs Returns to the Runway
The designer presented his first collection since February 2020, amid an uncertain but optimistic time for the city’s fashion industry.
From Florence to New York, Fashion Events Are Back
This week, everyone will be talking about the 100th Pitti Uomo, Marc Jacobs’ show in New York and the BoF Professional Summit on retail’s future.