Marc Jacobs - Genius or Bamboozler?
We've been had. Hoodwinked. Bamboozled.
Or have we?
Was what we just witnessed late last night a brilliant, innovative artistic statement, as many in the crowd leaving the NY State Armory told me? Or did we all just wait more than two hours for a 15 minute mess of a fashion (?) show masquerading as something greater than what it was?
As I write these words, it is just past midnight on Sept. 11, way too late really to be writing about anybody's fashion show.
*(Trust me when I say the time stamp you see at the bottom of the blog is an hour behind!)
This is Marc Jacobs we're talking about. THE Marc Jacobs. And this is what happens when you stay up to watch a fashion show that doesn't begin until 11 p.m. at night.
The Monday night show, as you will no doubt hear about in the coming days, was the spring collection of the couture line, Marc Jacobs.
Jacobs is notorious for having shows that run late (last night's two hour delay beat his old record for lateness by 20 minutes). Jacobs is also known for collections that are innovative, forward thinking and thought provoking. His collections have shown time and again that he is a visionary who is ahead of his time. Grunge, volume, and the current return to classic dressing all have been credited to Jacobs.
Certainly that's the reason for the cavalcade of celebrities ( Courtney Love, Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham, Carmen Electra), as well as regular folks who came for the show when it was supposed to begin, at 9 p.m., then returned or stuck around to see the show actually start at 11 p.m.
So what was this show really?
On the face of it, there was a statement being made about everything being backwards, from numbers running backwards on projections against panels on the stage, to the order of the program right down to Jacobs beginning his show by taking his bow and the models coming out for a finale. Ravel's "Bolero" began at the end when the music crescendos.
Then the show began at the end and wound down to look number one with "Bolero" played from its natural beginning.
Okay, so it was clever.
But this is about clothes, isn't it?
Jacobs seemed intent on revealing the underpinnings, quite literally. So we saw outfits that were described quite aptly as two-thirds of this and a piece of that, with panties and bras shown where the clothes had been cut away.
There were some pieces worth a second and third look, but as one woman correctly noted, this was not about what was wearable.
So, again I ask, was it worth two hours? Yes, it was art. Yes, it was a statement. But were we bamboozled by a cool concept and the anticipation of a long wait. And if so, what does this say about us and our fascination with Marc Jacobs?
Or have we?
Was what we just witnessed late last night a brilliant, innovative artistic statement, as many in the crowd leaving the NY State Armory told me? Or did we all just wait more than two hours for a 15 minute mess of a fashion (?) show masquerading as something greater than what it was?
As I write these words, it is just past midnight on Sept. 11, way too late really to be writing about anybody's fashion show.
*(Trust me when I say the time stamp you see at the bottom of the blog is an hour behind!)
This is Marc Jacobs we're talking about. THE Marc Jacobs. And this is what happens when you stay up to watch a fashion show that doesn't begin until 11 p.m. at night.
The Monday night show, as you will no doubt hear about in the coming days, was the spring collection of the couture line, Marc Jacobs.
Jacobs is notorious for having shows that run late (last night's two hour delay beat his old record for lateness by 20 minutes). Jacobs is also known for collections that are innovative, forward thinking and thought provoking. His collections have shown time and again that he is a visionary who is ahead of his time. Grunge, volume, and the current return to classic dressing all have been credited to Jacobs.
Certainly that's the reason for the cavalcade of celebrities ( Courtney Love, Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham, Carmen Electra), as well as regular folks who came for the show when it was supposed to begin, at 9 p.m., then returned or stuck around to see the show actually start at 11 p.m.
So what was this show really?
On the face of it, there was a statement being made about everything being backwards, from numbers running backwards on projections against panels on the stage, to the order of the program right down to Jacobs beginning his show by taking his bow and the models coming out for a finale. Ravel's "Bolero" began at the end when the music crescendos.
Then the show began at the end and wound down to look number one with "Bolero" played from its natural beginning.
Okay, so it was clever.
But this is about clothes, isn't it?
Jacobs seemed intent on revealing the underpinnings, quite literally. So we saw outfits that were described quite aptly as two-thirds of this and a piece of that, with panties and bras shown where the clothes had been cut away.
There were some pieces worth a second and third look, but as one woman correctly noted, this was not about what was wearable.
So, again I ask, was it worth two hours? Yes, it was art. Yes, it was a statement. But were we bamboozled by a cool concept and the anticipation of a long wait. And if so, what does this say about us and our fascination with Marc Jacobs?
posted by Karyn Collins at 11:10 PM
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