fashionologie

First Look: Louis Vuitton's Collaboration With Yayoi Kasuma

Justin Fenner — Wed, 23 May 2012 11:38:53 PDT

Marc Jacobs will continue his series of artist collaborations by working with Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese artist known for her whimsical dot motif.

On July 10, two days before a retrospective of Kusama's work opens at the Whitney Museum in New York, Louis Vuitton will deliver a collection informed by her signature decoration to its 461 stores worldwide. Kusama's signature dots will appear on everything from trench coats to pajamas and jewelry. Another assortment of products, combining Vuitton's monogram leather goods and Kusama's "nerves" design, will arrive in October.

Jacobs met Kusama in Tokyo in 2006. Their relationship led to Louis Vuitton providing financial backing for a retrospective of her work at London's Tate Modern museum earlier this year. Jacobs called the collaboration an extension of that support.

"Her energy is just endless," Jacobs said. "For many people who don't look at art or go to galleries, or maybe they're not aware of Kusama's work, there will be a new venue, a new place to see this work and to come to appreciate it through the eyes of Louis Vuitton."

The last time Jacobs worked with an artist for Louis Vuitton was his collaboration with Takashi Murakami in 2003. He also worked with Stephen Sprouse in 2001.

Kusama's influence can already be seen in Jacobs's work - his newest fragrance, after all, is called Dot. Take a look at his collaboration with Kusama - and Kusama's own work - here in the gallery.

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Marc Jacobs on Louis Vuitton and Working For Bernard Arnault

Justin Fenner — Fri, 04 May 2012 10:45:22 PDT

Marc Jacobs has had a very busy week: he presented Germany's Design For Tomorrow Award - which honors talented student designers - in Berlin and also took time to reflect on the worldwide presence of his brands in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. Read on for his thoughts on Louis Vuitton, working for Bernard Arnault, and more.

On the difference between Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton: "For me, sexy is not about a tiny waist or a heaving bosom. I suppose Louis Vuitton is more overt as a brand than my collections for my own brand, Marc Jacobs. But when I say Marc Jacobs is not about sex I mean that from a fashion perspective, it's not based on vulgarity."

On working for Arnault: "I've said before that working for Mr. Arnault is like working for the farmer in the movie Babe. I mean, he's never going to jump up and down with exuberance, and the most he can say has often been the equivalent of 'That'll do pig.' But now he does praise me, which is great."

On his aesthetic: "Sometimes I think I'm very old-fashioned in my approach. Where fashion is concerned, I like to tell a story. I don't like anything to be obvious and I think there should always be an element of surprise about the way one dresses."

On moving into China: "When we built the train for my last show, I said to [LVMH CEO Bernard] Arnault, 'If we are going to take anything to China, then this is it.'"
Photo: Marc Jacobs at his Fall 2012 runway show for Louis Vuitton.

Thailand May Get Its Own Vogue, Mulberry's Lana Del Rey Bag, & Marc Jacobs's Beach Date

fashionologie — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:23:56 PDT

>> Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

A newspaper in Thailand reported that the country is getting its very own edition of Vogue, hot on the heels of the new edition that just launched in the Netherlands. If the story is to be believed, current Elle Thailand editor Kullawit Laosuksri would be the new magazine's editor-in-chief. He'd also be the only man in the all-women Vogue editors-in-chief club. [The Fashion Spot]
Mulberry decided to release its new Del Rey handbag, named after singer Lana Del Rey, a few weeks early. Its flagship stores in New York, London, and Singapore started carrying the bag today - Del Rey herself has had one since February - but the rest of the world will have until May to purchase the $1,250 bag. [Fashion Etc.]
Singer Adam Levine wasn't debriefed before his supermodel ex-girlfriend Anne Vyalitsyna told the world they'd broken up. A friend of his says he was "blindsided" by reports last week that the two were no longer an item, and that Vyalitsyna was eager to avoid the impression that she was the one who got dumped. [The Cut]
Stylist Stevie Dance has started her own shopping-focused blog called Shop Ghost, which promises stories "about how subcultures create shopping trends, how we invest in ourselves, how we stalk ideas online, what we buy but never wear, what we want to recommend and why." Case in point: Shop Ghost launched with a story about shopaholic photographer Tommy Ton, who says he wants to start designing clothes within the next five years. [Shop Ghost]
Marc Jacobs celebrated his 49th birthday by frolicking on a beach in Rio de Janeiro with his boyfriend, 24-year-old Brazilian adult film actor Harry Louis. [Styleite]

49 Iconic Snaps in Honor of Marc Jacobs's 49th Birthday

fashionologie — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:18:04 PDT

> Today is Marc Jacobs's 49th birthday, and he's got a lot to celebrate. The designer in charge of Louis Vuitton - and his own eponymous label, lest you had forgotten - is in the prime of his career. His aesthetic influence can be felt all the way from the runway to the street, and everyone from Carine Roitfeld to Anna Wintour wears his clothing.

So to celebrate his birthday, we've rounded up 49 pictures of him with all of the fabulous, fashionable women - Madonna, Daphne Guinness, Lady Gaga, and Naomi Campbell - who have been wearing his clothing for decades. From Kate Moss in the mid-'90s to Sarah Jessica Parker earlier this year, Jacobs's most iconic fans are included, in no particular order. Happy birthday, Marc - and here's to another 49 years!

At left, Lindsey Wixson and Kristen McMenamy with Marc Jacobs in 2010.

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Raf Simons Is in at Dior

fashionologie — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 09:25:44 PDT

>> After over a year of searching for a creative director to replace John Galliano, Dior has finally selected Raf Simons to lead the storied French fashion house.

Simons, who was recently ousted from the director's chair at Jil Sander, will pick up the reins at Dior this week. The house will make the official announcement on Wednesday, and Simons will present his first collection for the brand in July during Paris's Fall 2012 haute couture shows.

Simons's selection makes sense - his final collection for Jil Sander featured clothing that experimented with couture techniques and drew on midcentury silhouettes, rendered in Dior's signature reds, beiges, and pale pinks. It lent credence to the idea that Simons was auditioning for the role - or was at least being considered for it - but media speculation pointed more directly at other designers, like Marc Jacobs and Haider Ackermann.

But Simons will be a fresh start for a house that for a long time was led by a isolated artist. Cathy Horyn noted that Simons is the opposite of Galliano in his approach to creating fashion - an idea the designer echoes. "I'm someone who takes responsibility," he said. "I'm not an isolated person. The more I connect to people, the more I have the feeling that things work."

The job became available in March 2011, when longtime Dior creative director John Galliano was fired for making a string of anti-Semitic remarks in public. Bill Gaytten, Dior's studio director, has been filling in for Galliano in the interim. But Simons wasn't a candidate until October or November of last year, when he began meeting with Dior CEO Sidney Toledano and LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault about the job.

Simons hasn't started designing his first collection for Dior yet, but he said he is looking forward to the challenge of interpreting the house's history for the 21st century.

"Mr. Dior was very innovative during a short time span. And it was in the middle of the 20th century, a period I am very interested in, whether it’s linked to fashion, architecture or art," he said.

Marc Jacobs Connects the Dots With New Fragrance

fashionologie — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 07:47:29 PDT

>> Marc Jacobs will debut a little sister to his fragrances Daisy and Lola this summer when he launches Dot, a new scent that Jacobs says has a "juicy, lush quality to it."

The fragrance combines berries, coconut water, jasmine, orange blossom, and vanilla, among other notes, to create what is described as a spirited and charming scent. The playful feeling the fragrance evokes is mimicked by the bottle - a red orb covered in black dots adorned with black plastic disks that look like butterflies.

"A dot is timeless and a pattern I always love, and round shapes are always beautiful," Jacobs told WWD. "I liked the idea of these hybrid butterfly-ladybugs, which suggest a sort of free spirit and femininity and playfulness. And, of course, ladybugs mean good luck."

Dot will debut in over 3,300 stores in the United States and Great Britain in July, and a Juergen Teller-shot ad campaign starring model Codie Young will pop up in magazines in September. Bottles of the perfume range in price from $48 to $89, with body lotion selling for $45 and shower gel for $40.

Jacobs's other big beauty project will be a color cosmetics collaboration with Sephora, but that's still in the preliminary stage. "It was an inspiring first meeting, and that gets me excited - when their enthusiasm matches my own," Jacobs said of the upcoming cosmetics collection.

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Marc Jacobs's Beauty Line, Nicki Minaj's Anna Wintour Rap, and Prada's Olympic Uniforms

fashionologie — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:07:49 PDT

Backstage at Marc by Marc Jacobs Fall 2012. Photo by Greg Kessler.

>> Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

Marc Jacobs has just inked a deal to do a line of beauty products with Sephora, the beauty retailer owned by LVMH - which also owns Jacobs's eponymous line as well as Louis Vuitton, the other brand Jacobs designs. The cosmetics line is in its infancy, so there's no price point or release date set as of now. "We currently are working on defining what Marc Jacobs cosmetics will be, what they'll say, what makes them distinctive," Jacobs said. "I think that will take some time, but the first meeting was good." [Fashion Etc.]
Front-row darling Nicki Minaj has written a song about her experience during Fashion Week, in which she name checks not only Anna Wintour but also Oscar de la Renta. Quoth Minaj: "When I'm sitting with Anna, I'm really sitting with Anna / Ain't a metaphor punchline, I'm really sitting with Anna / Front row at Oscar de la Renta, posture / Ain't a b*tch that could do it, not even my imposter." The song, "Come on a Cone," is a track from her new album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, which debuted today. [The Fashion Spot]
Not to be left out of all the Olympic-size fun Stella McCartney is having, Prada announced today that it will sponsor Italy's national sailing team in the upcoming games. The fashion house will furnish uniforms for both the team's athletes and its technical staff. [The Daily Telegraph]
Simon Spurr, who left his eponymous clothing company just two days after being nominated for the CFDA award for menswear, still hasn't explained why he left - other than to say there were issues within the company that made it impossible for him to stay. But he's still hoping to win that award. "If they don't vote for me this year, they're not going to next year," he said. "It's now or never." [The Cut]
The current number of pregnant Victoria's Secret Angels now stands at three, with models Alessandra Ambrosio, Adriana Lima, and Lily Aldridge all expecting additions to their families in the coming months - and they have the baby bumps to prove it. [LilSugar]

Marc Jacobs's Wanted Poster, How Gwyneth Picked Tom Ford For the Oscars

fashionologie — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:10:57 PDT

>> Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

In a tongue-in-cheek reference to the unknown thief (or thieves) who stole his Spring collection samples, Marc Jacobs posted a wanted sign in the window of his Mercer street store. The sign cleverly points out the fact that no one has been able to determine who stole the 46-piece line, but notes that "the thief is still at large and is now considered dressed to kill." It's also been made into a $28 t-shirt. [Racked]
Jean Paul Gaultier doesn't really like technology, and only uses his iPhone for texting. "It's just non-stop. I like to think alone with my brain and not over-communicate," he said. If that's what enables him to focus on creating such beautiful clothing, who are we to judge? [The Cut]
Gwyneth Paltrow's Oscar dress selection process was a labor of love, but she and her stylist Elizabeth Saltzman only picked the dramatic white Tom Ford gown and cape she wore a week before the show. Saltzman was able to make a decision so close to the event because of her tenure in the industry. "The politics, especially when it comes to this event, can be rough if you don't know the players," she said. [Stylelist]

Marc by Marc Jacobs Fall 2012

Christina Perez — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:37:15 PST

>> After last night's thought-provoking, Dickensian foray, it's only fair that today Marc Jacobs would give us something a bit more straightforward for his secondary line.

And he did. For Fall 2012, the designer focused on two of his more classic references - grunge and military - and worked them into laid-back schoolgirl silhouettes. Pleated skirts, velvet baby dolls, prim blouses, and jumpsuits were done in checks, plaids, and bronze lamé. For a hint of quirk, there were cat-eyed glasses, combat boots, and drum-major hats to finish each look.

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Marc Jacobs Fall 2012

fashionologie — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:30:38 PST

>> On a winding runway decorated with a Winter-white cutout set, Marc Jacobs presented his Fall 2012 collection. Dakota Fanning was in attendance, as was Kim Gordon, Brad Goreski, and Jared Leto.

Right out the gate - or rather, right down the Rachel Feinstein-designed steps - the looks were eclectic, vaguely Victorian, and dizzingly-rich with detail. Extra-large Edwardian hats - made in real fur by Steven Jones - topped each ensemble, and nearly every look was injected with some element of sparkle. There were shorn-fur overcoats woven with metallic threads, dresses in shimmering brocades, and square-toed shoes with crystallized buckles. The whole thing was very Willy Wonka-meets-Mad Hatter, or - on second thought - very Charles Dickens on glitter. A stirring rendition of "Who Will Buy?", from the musical Oliver!, even played on the speakers.

If you looked past the theatrics, there were still some lovely pieces here. Cropped pants in jacquard, brocade, and leather were particularly appealing, as were some chunky, crochet-like knits and a series of off-the-shoulder black patchwork dresses. However, coats were the biggest message of all. They came in nearly every possible fabric and colorway, with extra-wide necklines, giant buttons, and silhouettes that puffed out at the hips.

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