Marc by Marc Jacobs: Mix and match, and mix again
One of the creations from the spring 2013 line of Marc by Marc Jacobs that was on the runway at the Lexington Avenue Armory during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. (Sept. 11, 2012) Credit: Getty Images
Ahhh, Marc, Marc, Marc -- he can be clever, and his Marc by Marc Jacobs show required a little bit of careful reading. The collection is an exuberant study in mix-and-match, and mix again, and the retro vibe will have you searching for ‘80s music on iTunes. There’s a definite homage to that over-the-top decade going on here, from a man who knows his historical periods. And pop culture.
He piled together stripes (a major theme from his higher-end Marc Jacobs line), swirls, plaids and gingham, gingham, gingham, gingham. Scarves were wrapped round and round the head for a funky headband or turban, or round the waist as a boho belt.
To get a better sense of his inspiration, or just the random references that perhaps amused him on his way to creating this collection, you have to troll the production notes for clues.
So we’ll take a sartorial leap here and hypothesize that it’s, well, a Molly (as in Ringwald) Check Dress (which could easily have 16 different checks patchworked together on it, one for each of Moll’s “Sixteen Candles”).
A Drew (gotta be Barrymore, back when she was the squealing tyke in “E.T.”) Solid Dress, a peasantry number trimmed with what looked like chambray.
And a Debby (as in Gibson) stripe pant (wide legged -- wide striped -- and gathered at the waist with a scarf belt wrapped round and round and round).
The kicky Belle Star Plaid Skirt works in a number of '80s ways (both 1980s, thanks to the girl group The Belle Stars, and 1880s, and the infamous female American outlaw of the period).
Now as for that stunner magenta Lennox Outerwear Coat? Well, there’s only one Lennox that matters (as in Annie, of Eurythmics fame), and that may be the only coat you need next spring. Hey, would I lie to you?
