Career
At age 15, Jacobs worked as a stockboy at Charivari, a later defunct avant-garde clothing boutique in New York City.[17] While studying at Parsons, he designed and sold his first line of hand-knit sweaters. He also designed his first collection for Reuben Thomas, Inc., under the Sketchbook label. With Robert Duffy, Jacobs's creative collaborator and business partner from the mid-1980s, he formed Jacobs Duffy Designs.[18]
In 1986, backed by Onward Kashiyama USA, Inc., Jacobs designed his first collection bearing the Marc Jacobs label. In 1987, he was the youngest designer to have ever been awarded the fashion industry's highest tribute, the Council of Fashion Designers of America's Perry Ellis Award for "New Fashion Talent". In 1988, Jacobs and Duffy joined the women's design unit of Perry Ellis as creative director/vice president and president, respectively, following the death of its namesake and founder.[19] In addition, Jacobs oversaw the design of the various women's licensees. In 1992, the Council of Fashion Designers of America awarded Jacobs with The Women's Designer of the Year Award. In the same year, he designed a "grunge" collection for Perry Ellis, which was critically well-received but its commercial failure led to his dismissal.[20]
In fall 1993, Jacobs Duffy Designs Inc. launched their own licensing and design company, Marc Jacobs International Company, L.P.[21] In 1994, Jacobs produced his first full collection of menswear.[22] In 1997, Jacobs was appointed Louis Vuitton's creative director, where he created the company's first ready-to-wear clothing line.[20] Jacobs collaborated with many popular artists for his Louis Vuitton collections, including Stephen Sprouse, Takashi Murakami, Richard Prince, and Kanye West.[23]
In spring 2001, Jacobs introduced his secondary line, Marc by Marc Jacobs.[17] In 2005, Look was the Marc by Marc Jacobs ready-to-wear license holder in Japan with retail value of €50 million.[24] In 2006, Jacobs started a new line of body-splash fragrances in ten-ounce bottles which were distributed by Coty. In 2007, filmmaker Loïc Prigent released a documentary film about Jacobs entitled Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton.[25][26] In 2007, Jacobs released his popular Daisy collection of perfumes.[27]
In February 2008, Jacobs was accused of plagiarizing a scarf design created in the 1950s by Swedish designer Gösta Olofsson.[28] Jacobs settled the matter by offering monetary compensation to Olofsson's son.[29] In 2009, Jacobs launched a shirt, sold at his stores,[30] demanding the legalization of gay marriage. In May 2009, Jacobs co-hosted, with model Kate Moss, a "model and muse"-themed gala for the New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute.[20] In February 2010, Jacobs sued Ed Hardy for infringing on the designs of one of his embroidered handbags.[31]
In the course of the Mercedes-Benz Berlin Fashion Week in July 2011, Jacobs was the patron of the young talent award "Designer for Tomorrow by Peek & Cloppenburg". The five finalists were selected by Jacob and the jury board and received personal coaching by Jacobs. The jury board and Jacobs appointed the winner of 2011 during the DfT award show.[32] In August 2011, it was reported that Jacobs might succeed John Galliano as creative director of Christian Dior.[33] According to The Daily Telegraph, Jacobs "firmly laid to rest rumours that he was to move to Christian Dior" in January 2012,[34] but rumors prevailed.[35]
Jacobs made his feature film acting debut in Disconnect (2012), directed by Henry-Alex Rubin and starring Jason Bateman, Paula Patton, Alexander Skarsgård and Andrea Riseborough.[36] His character, Harvey, runs a house of teenage Internet porn performers, which is being investigated by a TV reporter, played by Riseborough.[37]
In February 2013, Jacobs was named the new creative director for Diet Coke. In honor of the brand's 30th anniversary, Jacobs spent a year giving the brand a "stylish and light-hearted" makeover.[38] In March 2013, the New York Daily News revealed that the "faux fur" used in many Marc Jacobs garments is actually the fur from raccoon dogs from China.[39]
In October 2013, after the Spring/Summer 2014 show, it was revealed that Marc Jacobs would leave Louis Vuitton to focus on his own line.[40]
On January 9, 2014, it was announced that Jacobs's new Spring/Summer collection would feature actress/singer Miley Cyrus, photographed by David Sims.[41]
On February 26, 2014, it was announced that actress Jessica Lange would be the new face of Marc Jacobs Beauty. In addition, it was announced that Lange would be featured in the brand's Summer/Fall print-ad campaign photographed by David Sims, and would also star in a short campaign film directed by Jacobs, to start streaming online May 5, 2014.[42] Previously, Jacobs had dressed and interviewed Lange for Love Magazine's fifth anniversary issue, and had her provide a spoken-word version of "Happy Days Are Here Again" as the soundtrack for his Autumn/Winter 2014 show.[42]
Jacobs decided to rely on social media to cast models for Marc by Marc Jacobs's Autumn/Winter 2014 campaign, and with its success did so again for Spring/Summer 2015 with photographer David Sims, with models including Aaron Whitty, Abigail Lipp, Amy Woodman, Ana Viktoria, Dylan Stevens, Eb Eunbi, Lindsay Lurgin, MacKenzie Cockerill, Nadia Kishlan, and Toks Adewetan.[43]
In February 2018, LVMH confirmed that Baja East co-founder John Targon would join Marc Jacobs as "creative director of contemporary".[44]
On August 26, 2019, Jacobs was presented with MTV's first "Fashion Trailblazer Award" at the Video Music Awards, in partnership with the Council of Fashion Designers of America.[45]
In September 2020, Jacobs released Heaven, a polysexual line aimed at a younger audience while blurring gender boundaries. All of the garments incorporated brand signatures to celebrate its history, while giving new context towards a newer, younger audience, catered to alternative style. The campaign also featured young rising stars and trend-setters, such as beabadoobee and Iris Law.[46]
In February 2023, an editorial shoot went viral. The shoot included a smattering of New York City nightlife legends sitting on an extremely long couch. Models included Memphy, Amber Later, Iris Apatow, Mel Ottenberg, Goth Jafar, Anna Sui, Riley Hooker, Gabriette, Dean Kissick, and Richie Shazam. The shoot included Marc Jacob as designer, Eloise Parry as photographer, Ava Nirui as creative director, Clare Byrne as fashion editor/stylist, Evanie Frausto as hair stylist, Marcelo Gutierrez as makeup artist, and Bert Martirosyan as casting director.[47][48]
In 2024, Jacobs pledged that his products would not use or sell animal fur -- and that they had not since 2018 -- in response to a pressure campaign from animal activists.[49]
In September 2025, a documentary about Jacobs which was made by Sofia Coppola titled Marc by Sofia premiered at the 2025 Venice Film Festival.[50]
Stores
There were 285 Marc by Marc Jacobs and Marc Jacobs Collection retail locations worldwide as of the summer of 2013. The brand-new Marc Jacobs flagship shop opened in Shanghai in December 2013.[51]
In order to concentrate on the growth of his primary brand and cater to a more upscale clientele, Jacobs announced the closure of his subsidiary label Marc by Marc Jacobs in March 2015.[52]
There are now three sites for Heaven by Marc Jacobs in Los Angeles, New York, and London.
