5 cose che puoi trovare soltanto sul profilo Ig di Marc Jacobs

«I like people who convey a sense of individuality. I love anything that appears strange and imperfect because it's natural and real" is one of those phrases that, when searched on the internet, goes straight to the list of Marc Jacobs' aphorisms. Born in 1960, a New Yorker, and a key figure in the cultural phenomenon of '90s grunge (see Perry Ellis), the renowned American designer even led Louis Vuitton from 1997 to 2013. With 33 tattoos he would redo without hesitation, a rehab that the designer openly talked about, and a vision of fashion so contagious that it can only be summarized in his words: «Fashion is not art, it's part of the art of living.»

Marc Jacobs, in fact, belongs to a generation of creatives who were truly created by the fashion industry, shaping the cornerstones of that decade, now historically known as the Golden Age - creativity and marketability going hand in hand with the unawareness that the demands of an overly scrutinizing system could be detrimental to the mental health of those in the industry. After a swift firing from Perry Ellis, offset by being named the best women's designer by the CFDA in 1992, his eponymous line has been active for over twenty years, and his approach to fashion is difficult to categorize into a single aesthetic. Marc Jacobs is the portrait of an over-the-top creative director. In addition to his collections, it is his Instagram feed that reminds us that preserving is better than archiving: his IG profile is a genuine fashion curation managed by an utterly flamboyant curator. Here's a selection of five things you can find only on his IG account, where, with the designer's typical irony and wit, you move from queer perspectives on fashion to patronage in literature.

A Central Park Stroll in Rick Owens Boots

In 2019, the New York designer had already tried his hand at free associations with scarves, turning them into headpieces worthy of an unmatched granny chic vibe - not even Grace Kelly would have worn them with such nonchalance. In the same year, he upped the ante by posting a shot in Central Park wearing a pair of Rick Owens boots, with a 13cm high heel and a 7cm platform, paired with a scarf tied around his neck, a vintage pied de poule jacket, a plaid shirt, and a pair of skinny blue jeans. His hairstyle is preserved in a geometric wet look, embellished with two glittering silver clips at the temples. There's glamour, kitsch, camp, and the styling, taken as a whole, could even evoke the whims of a dandy - a look that certainly didn't go unnoticed for a walk in the park with husband Char Defrancesco.

Birdwatching Session in Heels

2020 was the year of pandemic outfits, fertile ground for the spread of comfort in all its forms. Not for Marc Jacobs, who, at his upstate New York country house, indulged in a birdwatching session in the midst of nature. Seated on a log in a plastic pose, and equipped with binoculars, the designer wore a two-piece look (custom Marc Jacobs cardigan and mud-colored skirt), a safari hat, and a pair of slingback sandals with heels. Out of context, you might think. But if you read the caption carefully, you'll understand that this was the attire for his summerCAMP - excess and weirdness aim at a social critique that certainly doesn't prioritize sobriety.

A Photo with Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons

Scrolling through Marc Jacobs' feed makes you wonder if the fashion system is a magical world where colleagues lovingly support each other (spoiler alert, things aren't quite like that). Photos with Pharrell Williams before he became the creative director of Louis Vuitton, humorous photomontages portraying the American designer and Karl Lagerfeld in an episode of The Simpsons, and appreciation posts of emerging brands in his catchy stylings would suggest (and hope) that there might be a genuine way for everyone in the industry to compete together. And then the photo with Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons speaks for itself: an ordinary New York day having lunch with the two creative directors of Prada. It seems that Marc has been a devout follower of the Fashion Grande Dame for as long as he can remember and sees no reason to keep it a secret.

The Photo Dump with Ballet Flats

After getting us used to chunky or towering shoe models, the designer decided to switch to ballet flats. He wrote an ode to them with a photo dump, describing the design of the model created by his team for FW23, emphasizing that the copy is not from Chat GPT. He blows them kisses from afar because, sticking to his fashion phraseology, «fashion is not a necessity. It goes straight to the heart. It's a whim. You don't need it, you want it." And for the moment, he doesn't want to give up on ballet flats (even if they're from Balenciaga).

The Reading Hour

Querelle de Brest by Jean Genet, The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin, The Rules of Attraction by Bret Easton Ellis, or Walking through Clear Water in a Pool Painted Black are just some of the titles that appear in the "reading hour" section on Marc Jacobs' feed. Images where the designer, putting his high-fashion verve in the background, rediscovers American and non-American literature, engaging in a conversation with his community to exchange simple reading recommendations. The latest book recommended by one of the 100 most influential people in the world according to Time? The one written and curated by his friend and director Sofia Coppola, The Archive, for which Marc opted for an all-black Chanel look at the presentation.