Marc Jacobs: Falling out of Fashion...?

 It may seem osé to say, but someone has to say it: Marc Jacobs is the quintessential luxury wannabe of the past vicennial.

The former’s creative director of Louis Vuitton fashion label - Marc Jacobs - is not currently considered a world – class luxury brand, but more like a middle – luxury brand. The brand targets people that cannot afford luxury wardrobe but that would like to own opulent items, by offering a wide range of cheaper high-quality designs lines (Braves, 2021). 

We could say that Marc Jacobs is one of the ‘’fashion’s greatest nostalgists’’, as he represents the epitome of one of the most recents trends in fashion: copying.

 For example, in his spring 2020 collection trouser suits with wide-brimmed hats were inspired by Yves Saint Lauren’s Le Smoking, while tweed jackets refer to the work of Karl Lagerfeld and feather hats with fluffy dresses to Valentino. However, despite these bombastic words such as “paying homage”, is copying still acceptable for a luxury brand?

Nevertheless, there are certain things that are considered part of Marc Jacobs’ DNA. The art of seduction, narratively-driven catwalk, pulsating music indicating the collection’s mood. All these play a defining role in creating an internationally-celebrated brand.

Every luxury product is associated with a dream, but when talking about Marc Jacobs we realize that this dream has dissipated as time went by. The experiential and symbolic components play a crucial role for a brand to establish itself in the luxury industry and Marc Jacob seems to be missing them. 

If we try to define a brand identity prism for Marc Jacobs, it’s evident that some elements such as brand personality and brand physique, are not well defined and resembled in Marc Jacobs’ pieces. Closing most of Marc Jacobs shops around the world contributed to the loss of customer experience and brand identity, which are fundamental for a luxury brand.

The stark stage set for the Marc Jacobs fall 2018 show at the Park Avenue Armory in February, a show that one critic likened to a “sumptuous funeral.”

In an interview with WWD (WWD Beauty CEO Summit, 2018), Mr. Jacobs said he was intent on repositioning the Marc Jacobs label as a premium brand that is intrinsically linked to luxury. He blamed “low-end retail” for having deflated the brand's image, pointing to a proliferation of Marc Jacobs-branded products at outlet malls and discount retailers as a cancer eating away at his trademark.

Streetwear labels like Supreme and designers like Alexander Wang and Alessandro Michele (Gucci), have shown that they are able to understand what’s happening in the luxury industry. What consumers are looking for right now is “newness” (Kurutz, 2018).  While Marc Jacobs is not really perceived as a luxury brand, it’s more in line with brands like Coach and Kate Spade.

As stated by Marc Jacobs himself in an interview for British Vogue, “I am so appalled by the whole social media thing. I don’t get it, it doesn’t appeal to me, I feel out of touch with what today really looks like.”

We realized that Marc Jacobs didn't really succeed in its intent to become a "dream brand". Yet, there are brands that actually managed to become one from scratch. Hublot, which is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer founded in 1980 by Carlo Cocco (Hublot, n.d.), is relatively new in the industry  when compared to the century-old brands like Rolex or Audemar Piguet.  Hublot has in fact managed to gain customers through unique partnerships with celebrities, football teams and people involved in art and fashion (Weppelink, 2018). The Swiss brand managed to push cultural and technological boundaries, expanding its audience and collaborating with the right partners to create unique pieces (Weppelink, 2018). 

Times when Marc Jacobs attracted a new urban woman, who mixed downtown and glamour have passed.  Now, there is a sense that Mr. Jacobs has lost his way. A designer who himself has suggested he no longer understands what customers want, the label is turning out clothes and accessories that lack a compelling point of view (S.Kurutz, 2018, NYT).

Sources

Braves, S. (2021, August 21). Is Marc Jacobs High End? Retrieved from Best Style Trends: https://beststyletrends.com/is-marc-jacobs-high-end/

Hublot (n.d.). 40 Years Anniversary Products. Retrieved from Hublot official website:  https://www.hublot.com/en-ch/40-years/digital-book-products

Tashjian, R. (2020, February 13). Marc Jacobs Just Staged the First Post-Instagram Fashion Show. Retrieved from GQ: https://www.gq.com/story/marc-jacobs-fall-2020

Tashjian, R. (2021, September 2). In Fashion, Copying Is Now Cool. Retrieved from GQ: https://www.gq.com/story/virgil-abloh-marc-jacobs-fashion-copies

Weppelink, J. (2018, May 6). Hublot ou l’art de se créer une image Partenariats Hublot: outils ultimes de communication active. Retrieved from Chrono24: https://www.chrono24.fr/magazine/hublot-ou-lart-de-se-creer-une-image-p_29312/#gref

Kurutz, S. (2018, June 2). How Marc Jacobs fell out of fashion. The New York Times. Retrieved October 9, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/02/business/how-marc-jacobs-fell-out-of-fashion.html. 

Marc Jacobs x WWD Beauty CEO Summit. (2018, July 11). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E5y-ff1P9s

Milnes, H. (2018, May 17). 'it cut itself off at the legs': What happened to Marc Jacobs. Glossy. Retrieved October 9, 2021, from https://www.glossy.co/evolution-of-luxury/it-cut-itself-off-at-the-legs-what-happened-to-marc-jacobs/. 

Kurutz. S (2018) "How Marc Jacobs Fell Out of Fashion" The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/02/business/how-marc-jacobs-fell-out-of-fashion.html

Morhart, F. (2020, October). Session 3: The Luxury Brand . Lecture.