Wednesday, October 22, 2008

high praise from alt

Marc Jacobs, Spring 2009

"In my life in the fashion trenches, there have been only two collections that were seismic moments destined to become part of the legacy of modern fashion history. The first was YSL's Broadway Suit collection of January 1978, my first-ever Paris YSL couture collection. The second belongs to Marc Jacobs, who took the biannual toxic blight out of New York Fashion Week with one of the most defining collections of his career.

With his 53 looks on parade to Gershwin's classic "Rhapsody in Blue", Jacobs became the new Yves Saint Laurent. Forceful, witty, pragmatic sportswear was luxed up in linens, cottons, and lames specially created for his show from archived prints. While other design houses wrestle with the YSL legacy, Jacobs's work is original and based on his own idea of what is or isn't elegance...

His is a destiny borne from both failure (fired at Perry Ellis for his infamous grunge collection) and success (turning around the fortunes of Louis Vuitton), one that weighs him down with fear, self-doubt, and sleepless nights. In his new world of two-hour gym treks and therapy daily, Jacobs feels he's approaching perfection. 'I worked so hard on the bags and accessories,' he told me. 'This collection made me happy because it was all the things I love.' It was also perfection and, as an American collection, one of the most significant and powerful statements in New York fashion in two decades..."

- Andre Leon Talley, Vogue, November 2008

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