UnCultured

Who Is Marc Jacobs?

Marc prefers not to use last names. In fact, he is bored with most ways of being identified. “I think it was after the Caitlyn Jenner thing,” he says, folding himself into a snail-colored sofa, “and I just said, like, can we just start calling people by their name? You know, not what they do for a living, not what their sexual preference is, not their age, not who they’re related to. It’s 2015. Just say, ‘Hi, I’m Caitlyn.’ ‘Hi, I’m Marc.’ It’s not like, ‘I’m Marc, homosexual Jew from New York.’ ” He laughs. “You know, ‘fashion designer.’ ”

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Winona Ryder by David Sims for Marc Jacobs Fall 2015 Ad Campaign

Marc Jacobs Resort 2016

More than the jeweled embroideries, the waffle-knit cashmeres, the deconstructed prom dresses, and the f'ed-up shoes, what has defined Marc Jacobs' career is the 180-degree turn. He loves a runway surprise. But not this season. Resort, which he showed in his Mercer Street store—35 girls, one for each look, crammed "backstage"—was a rethink of his Diana Vreeland Fall collection rendered in lighter-weight fabrics.

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Marc Jacobs

Marc Jacobs

Marc by Marc Jacobs is Closing 

In surprise news of the week, Marc Jacobs has announced that he will be closing his Marc by Marc Jacobs line. Surprising, especially since it’s only been three seasons since Katie Hillier and Luella Bartley were installed as creative director and womenswear designer respectively, reviving the label with a fun and youthful attitude. The younger line will be folded into the main line which will encompass a more diverse range of price points.

Marc Jacobs is Using Instagram to Cast Next Ad Campaign

Marc Jacobs announced a worldwide model call on Monday looking for the new faces of his Marc by Marc Jacobs campaign. But the designer doesn't just want one model, he wants a group of friends to rep his fall/winter campaign. And he wants nornal people! 

Jacobs made the announcement via his Instagram, naturally. Interested crews of friends must apply via Instagram using the hashtag #castMeMarc. The hashtag has already been used over 115,000 times.

The 2015 CFDA Award Nominees

Guests piled in to the Top of the Rock to celebrate the 2015 CFDA Award nominees. Lucky for us the weather permitted some outdoor sightseeing, but the good view wasn’t all the venue had to offer. Find all of the 2015 CFDA Award nominees and honourees here.

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The Art and Allure of Marc Jacob’s Dramatic Stage Sets

New York’s fall/winter 2015 Fashion Week went out on a high note, as per usual, with Marc Jacobs’s presentation at the Park Avenue Armory last night. As big a draw as the clothes (a darkly opulent ode to Diana Vreeland) and the people-watching (Nicki Minaj and Deborah Harry sat front-row) was the set: a Stefan Beckman-designed backdrop inspired by Jeremiah Goodman paintings of Vreeland’s famous red room, the latest in a series of immersive — and sometimes provocative — installations.

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Don't do it...

Made in Italy - The Marc Jacobs 'Incognito'

The Marc Jacobs Fall 2014 Handbags mark a return to classic luxury: clean lines, an elegant palette, luxurious materials and rich details. The Incognito is an interpretation of a conventional shape, the classic doctor’s bag, reimagined with bold details that Marc Jacobs is known for. The Incognito is impressive in its simplicity, tenacity and polish.

Spanish Brand peSeta Creates Espadrilles For Marc Jacobs

Spain’s peSeta, “making beautiful things since the beginning of the century,” team up once again with Marc Jacobs; following their joint effort on a series of bags, the duo turn their attention to footwear. Handmade espadrilles use a selection of MJ fabrics, a product of Arnedo, La Rioja, a region known for good booze and beautifully crafted shoes. To announce the project, a short film from Bonaparte and Miguel Ángel Fernández Belando featuring the latest models and some headwear inspiration. Look at for these online soon.

LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault Talks Marc Jacobs IPO

Chairman and CEO of LVMH Bernard Arnault offered a few insightful points on the future of the fashion house at its annual shareholder meeting.

In addition to emphasizing that its major luxury goods would continue to not be sold online, he commented on the promise of the Marc Jacobs brand:

“Marc Jacobs wasn’t even a $10 million company when we invested in it. Now it’s making a billion euros a year in revenue. There are other designers we’ve invested in who haven’t matched that type of performance. Perhaps they weren’t as talented…. Marc Jacobs is the most emblematic designer in the United States. [An IPO could mean] that over the next five to 10 years one company could equal a third of the value of the group. 

A New Michael Jackson Album Is Coming This May

Titled XSCAPE, the record will be comprised of eight previously-unreleased tracks from the King of Pop’s archives, which have all been “contemporized” by Timbaland and other producers to make for a more modern sound.

XSCAPE is executive produced by Epic CEO LA Reid, and will be the latest compilation of unreleased material since 2010’s Michael. Reid curated a collection of songs from Jackson’s archive, and worked with the likes of Timbaland, who was rumored to be working on the project as far back as last summer, and Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins for this new release. As Reid states in the announcement, “Michael left behind some musical performances that we take great pride in presenting through the vision of music producers that he either worked directly with or expressed strong desire to work with.”

XSCAPE will hit stores on May 13th, but fans can preorder the album on iTunes starting tomorrow.

Tame Impala - Stranger In Moscow (Michael Jackson)

Marc Jacobs Fall 2014 RTW

From beginning to end, it was all neutrals and soft pastels. Partly for that reason, it didn't bowl you over in that hyperkinetic way some MJ collections do. Instead, it worked a subtler kind of magic, almost a narcotic pull. The soundtrack certainly tunneled its way into your consciousness. It was Jessica Lange performing a spoken-word version of "Happy Days Are Here Again," the Depression-era song that Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland famously reprised in the sixties. You couldn't quite tell if Lange was trying to convince herself or the audience. Either way, by the end Jacobs had made us believers.

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