April 9, 1963– Marc Jacobs was born the son of a pair of NYC theatrical agents. His father died when he was only 7 years old & his mother had mental health issues. He went to live with his grandmother in an apartment in the Majestic on the Upper West Side, one of my favorite residential buildings in Manhattan. His grandmother taught Jacobs how to knit.
Jacobs spent his youth shuttling between school & Studio 54. After graduation from NYC’s High School Of Art & Design, he entered Parsons School Of Design, & in his senior year he created a collection of hand knit sweaters, knitted by his nanna, which won him the Perry Ellis Golden Thimble award.
After graduating, he designed under his own label creating an homage to 1960’s Bohemian hippie clothing. Now, Jacobs designs smart clothing using rich materials for very rich people.
Since those early years Jacobs has won bunches of awards: Perry Ellis Award For New Fashion Talent, the highest tribute in the American fashion world, & Women’s Wear Designer Of The Year by the CFDA. In spring 1992, Jacobs, working for Perry Ellis, famously showed his “Grunge Collection”, not understanding that the Seattle music scene’s look was anathema to fashion. Punk had been anti-fashion, but Grunge was no fashion at all. Besides, Grunge was already becoming something else. I know. I lived in Seattle in the 1990s & by the time that I had gathered my flannel shirts from the Goodwill bins, it was over. Jacob’s took some hard knocks in the press & from the industry. Kurt Cobain was photographed wearing a black T-shirt that read “Grunge Is Dead.” Courtney Love:
“Marc sent me & Kurt his Perry Ellis grunge collection. Do you know what we did with it? We burned it.”
Jacobs was very publicly fired from Perry Ellis. In 1994, he launched his own line, this time with real success. His clothing still carries a rock vibe. In 1997, he became the creative director for Louis Vuitton, a position he held until last year.
Jacobs had been involved romantically with a hot Brazilian who was identified as a “chocolatier”, but who might be a porn star, the terms are interchangeable to me, but most certainly he has not had a Brazilian wax. My sources tell me that Jacobs is currently single, although I follow him on Twitter & he posted photographs of the dude & his very cute dog, Neville, on a Caribbean beach early this year.
This spring, Jacobs paid just over $2 million for an Ed Ruscha piece at auction, so I suppose he is doing alright. I would hate to have to worry about him. He has townhouse in NYC & another in Paris a few blocks away from his studio which is just steps away from the Louvre & Notre Dame.
When he 47 years old, Jacobs made a very dramatic transformation, going from dumpy to hottie. I could look like Jacobs if I followed his example of consuming only vegan food & working out with a personal trainer for 3 hours a day, 7 days a week. Again proving my theory that it is easy to be beautiful when you are very, very rich. In addition, that wealth allows you to date Brazilian porn stars.
Jacobs turns 52 years old today. I can only imagine how he will celebrate.
