February 13, 2020 |
Another New York Fashion Week done, another legendary Marc Jacobs show for the books. As nostalgic as ever, Jacobs was in high form last night as he presented his AW20 collection at the Park Avenue Armory on the Upper East Side. It opened with a bang – a brief performance by contemporary dance legend and choreographer Karole Armitage in a simple black getup, followed by her troupe in beautifully-tailored everyday garments throwing shapes in the middle of the room. And that’s not even the actual collection.
Around them marched a line-up of historically accurate silhouettes dating back to late 1950s, early 1960s and belonging to the high society girls and women Marc Jacobs always admired and referenced. Historicism told through the excitement of a design student who just discovered over-the-top vintage silhouettes – that’s the only way to describe the joy and optimism that poured out of these clothes. There were plenty of Jacobs’ signature pieces which could be traced back to his greatest hits – boxy, double-breasted peacoats with cropped shoulders had a bit of his old Louis Vuitton collections about them, while a bit of the sporty grunge had the tone of his short but sweet tenure at Perry Ellis.
The majority of the models were styled monochromatically – providing a cutting selection of head-to-toe looks which could be easily broken apart and introduced into your everyday wardrobe without looking retro. A bit of artistic relief came in the form of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s roses which appeared as patches of origami-like folded satin fabrics which connected into cage-like dresses and tops. And then of course the Miley Cyrus cameo – the singer walked out with her signature pout in a black bra with matching, menswear-inspired tailored trousers. This is the kind of extra you always expect from a Marc Jacobs show. And off to London we go…
Photographs by Jason Lloyd-Evans.
