Marc Jacobs AW23
The designer unveils his 'blink and you'll miss it' winter collection. By THE FALL
Ever the designer to dance to the beat of his own drum, the New York City public library was the setting for yesterday’s calendar-incongruous Marc Jacobs AW23 show and collection. Hot on the heels of men’s Paris Fashion Week, fashion’s great and good gathered in the opulent marbled halls of the NYC institution for a show that gave alternative meaning to the term ‘fast fashion’. Less than 30 looks, five minutes – tops – and that was it, we were done!
However, during those brief minutes we were treated to some the things that makes Jacobs one of the industry’s most loved global icons. This time, he took his female form on a new journey through considered and innovative menswear aesthetics. And, to underwrite the bold elegance to this proposition, (almost) everything came in stark black and/or white.
Silhouette and shape were the subtexts to the story. Tailored suits with strong, prominent shoulders inverted notions of femininity while simultaneously signposting the way to the waist – always cinched and always catered to. Mini dresses carried that same forthright attitude, with short asymmetric hems, raw unfinished trims and tonal suede panelling to the bust to add the perfect amounts of snarl and smile to your strut. Subverting the form, intricate drapery on the dresses gave them the air of evening gowns.
The colours, where they did come, were like urgent shots to add dimension to the monochrome. Sometimes it was a glittering gold jacket, a cherry red patent leather mini-skirt or a metallic green dress fringed with black lace. But they were always the punctuations that were needed as the blacks and whites flicked by the eye.
Jacobs’ final nod to his feminine theories on masculinity was to dress each look with simple flat shoes. Worn with white ankle socks, the combination with the black version of the shoes put one in mind of Jazz-age spats. And, coincidentally enough, Marc Jacobs AW23 is sure to keep you dancing this winter.
For more information on Marc Jacobs AW23, click here
Click here to read our last feature on Marc Jacobs
