Marc Jacobs F/W 06 (theme & influence)

Without the usual drum roll or rock back beat, Marc Jacobs chose to let the Philip Glass's composition Heroes do the talking - the horns swelling their introduction to lead Karen Elson, in slouching oversized large sequined beret with big, softly knotted olive wool coat, down the slope in her cone like heels. Backstage, afterwards, Jacobs said his inspiration had been anyone that had ever worked with him, plus the Forties, Fifties, Seventies and so on. It didn't matter - this was a pot pourri of life and the characters who he had been touched by. The soft, layered shapes rouched and twisted and draped round the body: shy and demure and like the dawning of a Brave New World.

A matted chocolate brown coat, a loose knot of lumberjack greys and caramels, oversized berets and knitted ribbed mushroom-like caps, these were caricatures of fairy-like heroines out in the cold with the asymmetric curls of fabric covering rather than exposing; this new modesty a new take for fashion. Honey-coloured cashmeres, Dickensian urchins and Gemma Ward buried under her faded ruby red sequinned beret worn with twisted backless blanket dress. Things were not as simple as they seemed and it was so different from anything else so far seen on the runway this season that it might take the rest a few days to catch up with Jacobs virtuoso steps. It was as if he had given fashion a mystical dry clean, got rid of the plunge and the flash, and replaced it with feminine soft drapes and airy faded colours, cropped boxy jackets one moment, long drapes and twists of another age the next. Crochets and tumble down, fur-trimmed detailing - all accompanied by classical and whispering chords, this had all of the elements of a master at work. His cut might seem easy but was impossible to unravel, the shreds of fraying sequins and trinkets falling off his evening dresses left those privy to this speechless - and witness to a fashion moment. Nude, innocent faces, mutted warm tones and Marc Jacobs was happy to stand on the runway at his finale as he knew he had done something special. Just as if you had just met your hero as the throngs all clambered backstage to salute him, when eventually you came into eye contact you had to look away, as what words could describe what magic had happened here tonight? If there is such a thing as the shape of things to come then tonight it was at Marc Jacobs - softly softly so as not to scare off this new look - seeing is believing.


reference:
http://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/show.aspx/catwalk-report/id,3320



You know this much about Marc Jacobs: You never know what he'll do next. Replacing the Nittany Lions marching band and his spring parade of high-school good girls gone bad were Philip Glass' symphony Heroes and a troupe of vagabonds in muted layers of plaid flannel, oversize knits, skirts worn atop pants, legwarmers, and tams whose cumulative effect was paradoxically chic.

When pressed for details backstage, Jacobs was vague. "It's about the places I've been, the people I know, world leaders, and winter," he said. The one word he didn't use, though it was uttered by many in the audience, was grunge. Was this a reprise of the seminal collection that lost him his job at Perry Ellis back in 1992? Jacobs wasn't saying. But you saw elements of it in the flannel that was repurposed as strapless dresses, the sweaters that dragged along the knees, and the pants that were so puffy they looked as though they required their own hand pump. (Somewhere, Kal Ruttenstein, the man who famously championed that controversial collection and to whom Jacobs dedicated this show, was smiling.) Come evening, the designer's gorgeous urchins wore black net and metallic sequin dresses distressed to the point of tatters. In the midst of all this were eminently functional, not to mention desirable, coats, capes, shawls, and jackets. And, of course, superluxe bags; this wouldn't be a Jacobs runway without them.

Jacobs is making a habit of 180-degree reversals—gloomy one season, polished and upbeat the next, and now, for fall, disheveled once again. It's remarkable how a man who claimed post-show that he "didn't know what to do" can be full of such captivating ideas.


reference:
http://www.style.com/fashionshows/review/F2006RTW-MJACOBS



THEME OF 2006 F/W COLLECTION:
GRUNGE

definition:
Clothing commonly worn by grunge musicians in Washington consisted of thrift store items and the typical outdoor clothing (most notably flannel shirts) of the region, as well as a general unkempt appearance. The style did not evolve out of a conscious attempt to create an appealing fashion; music journalist Charles R. Cross said, "Kurt Cobain was just too lazy to shampoo," and Sub Pop's Jonathan Poneman said, "This [clothing] is cheap, it's durable, and it's kind of timeless. It also runs against the grain of the whole flashy aesthetic that existed in the 80's.

reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grunge_music