There has been much speculation of late that we are about to enter a post-runway show era in fashion when presentations will primarily be devoted to creating exciting fashion imagery for the Internet, and that catwalk displays will gradually wither away. Whoever has been advancing this thesis clearly has never been to a show by Marc Jacobs, whose latest bravura and ironically naive display was a timely reminder that catwalks will, and should, continue to dominate fashion seasons for many years to come.
Staged before a particularly memorable setting, a cascading powder blue cardboard combination of medieval village wall and Disney stairways, this fall 2012 collection was a mesmerizing meditation on how rather traditional clothes can become in the right designer hands suddenly very subversive, and downright beautiful.
"The third stairwell was, well, a castle in Ireland, or somewhere like that," explained artist Rachel Feinstein, who designed the setting, to a group of bloggers with voice recorders, before the show began in the looming Downtown Armory on Lexington Avenue in New York on Monday, Feb. 13.
Throughout, the clothing combinations were frequently rather daffy: fake fur stoles, over fake fur sweaters, below which lurked patchwork kangaroo dresses and erratically appliqued double face skirts. The colors were a mix of mat and garish - nun-like blacks with crimson red satin paisley skirts, lurex lime redingotes and Roman Imperial purple coats. Every single look was topped by a massive hat - cloches, toppers, fedoras and leprechaun looks in beaver, goat, fox and, most especially, mink.
Asked by FWD about the truly gigantic headgear, Jacobs laughed: "I thought everyone should have a fur coat. It's just that they should wear it on their head this season!"
No model wore tights. Instead they marched with uncovered shins, lurex socks and thick-heeled court shoes with Jacobean buckles. Taken individually, many items were rather classic, yet the odd ensembles, exaggerated proportions and off-beat colors made for a show of arty panache.
The New York designer explained that his initial inspiration was filmmaker Kenneth Anger's 1953 "Eaux d'Artifice". "But there were a bunch of references, "The Cat in the Hat," "Hair," Gloria Vanderbilt and conservatism in America. We went back and forth," he said with a smile backstage.
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