Op-Ed: Marc Jacobs AW2020—A Creative Collaboration
Filippo Fior/gorunway.com
In February 2020, Marc Jacobs staged, what he says, may be his last fashion show for a while. [1] The show was a collaboration between his team and the choreographer Karole Armitage. After watching the show on YouTube and reading reviews and opinions, I am left with the general sense that what Jacobs created in the very short time constraints of fashion show was, perhaps, nothing less than genius — after all this is Marc Jacobs. The chaotic energy that Karole Armitage brought with her choreography perhaps demonstrated that despite the clean 1960s designs of the clothing I was also struck by how creative and inspirational the show was. I do not think it could have been achieved without the type of collaboration that is indicative of Marc Jacobs — the brand and the man.
Spectacle is something that the fashion industry trades in. After all, the legendary Alexander [Lee] McQueen, perhaps knew that better than anyone else. But with the labored bemoaning that New York and American fashion is anything but spectacle and not the high art that the capitals of Europe trade in, this long standing idea ought to be reevaluated in the face of Jacob's show.
New York is not the most exciting fashion capital, it's probably the most practical and business focused. It doesn't have the creative capital of London, production and manufacturing powerhouse that Milan and Italy command, and, well, Paris is the place where fashion directs itself.
However, New York has what others do not — namely, easy access to capital than say Europe where most money in fashion has been invested in the heritage houses and owned by mega-conglomerates. Whether this turns into more palatable clothing brought to market is questionable.
“There is something fundamental about creativity that Jacobs understands, namely that creativity is born out of collaboration and talking and listening to others is key to innovation and success.”
The darling of the New York fashion world is Jacobs, who can bridge the art and the business, and has been a household name for many years as a representative of American fashion.
Jacobs has struggled in recent years to recapture the value and cache of his brand. After multiple controversies, from the cultural appropriation of dreadlocks, to being sued by the remaining members of Nirvana for a t-shirt that basically ripped off the band’s logo, to questionable production quality, and, most importantly, declining sales — Jacobs’ brand was seen as faltering and headed towards losing control of its place in the business. Many in the media questioned whether Jacobs could rekindle his trendsetting ways, placed always somewhere in between bad boy and golden boy.
What the Autumn/Winter 2020 runway show demonstrated, though, was that Jacobs still has his magic touch and he has the ability of marrying disparate parts together and creating something of beauty out of it. There is something fundamental about creativity that Jacobs understands, namely that creativity is born out of collaboration and talking and listening to others is key to innovation and success.
Fashion on the other hand, has historically been the genius of the single creative director. Occasionally, there will be the odd design duo that will be able to achieve recognition. And of course, nevermind the actual design team doing the heavy, unspoken labor of designing, and rarely receiving any external credit. It is perfectly clear that Jacobs does not mind collaboration given his extensive history of collaborating with artists and other designers. He has built up a repertoire of work that include clothes and handbags that were much more sellable and covetable, however, not the same type of collaboration he has honed earlier this past February. But yet — Jacobs’ collaborative spirit was made evident by the 2002 New York Times article in which Guy Trebay writes, "Marc Jacobs is the first to admit that the credit, in many ways, doesn't really belong to him at all. 'You would have to be out of your mind to think that I do all this alone,' Mr. Jacobs said in Paris last week." [2]
“If the air was electric at the end of New York Fashion Week in February 2020 with Jacobs’ show, there was a cough and then silence at the end of Paris Fashion Week.”
Jacobs listened intently and allowed Armitage to create and develop her dance piece around the clothes. There was no way to give Jacobs all the credit, because clearly, the contemporary dance choreography was something that was not in Jacob’s wheelhouse.
Jacobs brought restlessness and incongruity into the show in his collaboration with Armitage. Buttressed by Karole Armitage’s style with her work in dance, bringing in influences of “20th century physics, to 16th Century Florentine fashion, Japanese Noh Ghost Theater, pop culture and new media.” [3] Arguably Armitage is much like Jacobs — they both defy norms and conventions, and by collaborating with each other, they made something deeper than just a singular runway and singular dance piece. Aligned with this idea was the title of the show “Chaos + Form,” which allowed for the magic of the choreography and the clothes to really sing, but also represented both of their styles. If the air was electric at the end of New York Fashion Week in February 2020 with Jacobs’ show, there was a cough and then silence at the end of Paris Fashion Week.
As Milan Fashion Week began, it became clear that the COVID-19 pandemic would wreak havoc on the fashion industry. As Paris was in disarray due to coronavirus, many buyers left early, and were unable to see the showroom that Jacobs had opened in the city. This led to a disastrous outcome of no orders, and no way to get the Italian-made fabrics needed to produce the collection, as by then Italy had shut down.
“Jacobs has pointed to the fact that the current fashion calendar is not the one it should be on, nor do his collections need a runway.”
During an April 2020 Zoom interview with Edward Enninful of British Vogue, Jacobs acknowledged that the role of the fashion show is more about the “halo effect…it's more of a statement that's meant to inspire people and to keep the company and the world at large engaged in the conversation of fashion. It's a lab for ideas and thoughts and feelings." [4]
Jacobs has pointed to the fact that the current fashion calendar is not the one it should be on, nor do his collections need a runway. In May of 2019, Jacobs released his new contemporary line, The Marc Jacobs (TMJ), which is a seasonless edit of ready-to-wear, shoes, and accessories that was released through the wholesale and direct-to-customer model. There will not be any runway shows for any of the collections and it is being promoted on social media exclusively. Additionally, Jacobs has recently launched the line HEAVN with longtime collaborator Ava Nirui, which was released exclusively online on September 9th 2020, and is a “polysexual collection.” Meaning the collection is for everyone on the gender spectrum at a more accessible price point than TMJ. In looking over the clothes, one cannot help get a glimpse of his infamous Perry Ellis collection of the 1990s, and at the same time see today’s teens saving their money for a piece that ranges from $45-$395 USD. Time will tell if this strategy will work and penetrate its intended market.
As Fashion Month begins again, this time six months into a pandemic, Jacobs has yet to schedule his show. The magic is offstage, launching seasonless, direct-to-consumer collections at what should have been the start of New York Fashion Week is perhaps his best trick yet.
It is clear that Jacobs has a place in the fashion industry as a whole and will never lose that. Going forward, he is the strongest proponent of change in the rhythm of fashion. The aftershocks of his vibrant AW 2020 collection and fashion show is actively shaping his career and ultimately, fashion as an industry going forward.
Notes
[1] “Marc Jacobs Talks Creativity in Self-Isolation, Future Collections and What’s Next for Fall 2020 at ‘Vogue’ Virtual Conference” by Ana Colón https://fashionista.com/2020/04/marc-jacobs-edward-enninful-vogue-global-conversations (Accessed 09/22/20)
[2] “Familiar but Not, Marc Jacods and the Borrower’s Art” by Guy Trebay https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/28/nyregion/familiar-but-not-marc-jacobs-and-the-borrower-s-art.html (Accessed 06/12/20)
[3] “Biography,” https://www.armitagegonedance.org/karole-armitage/biography (Accessed 06/03/2020)
[4] “Marc Jacobs Talks Creativity in Self-Isolation, Future Collections and What’s Next for Fall 2020 at ‘Vogue’ Virtual Conference” by Ana Colón https://fashionista.com/2020/04/marc-jacobs-edward-enninful-vogue-global-conversations (Accessed 09/22/20)
