JACOBS LADDER
arc Jacobs is a wunder-
kind on Seventh Avenue.
While most young de-
signers are scrounging
for financial backing and wondering
if they will last to next season, Mr.
Jacobs, 28, is secure. He's the creative
force for the women's collections at
the $400 million Perry Ellis empire.
Marc Jacobs appears to be part
yuppie, part hippie. He's wearing blue
jeans and a traditional navy wool
blazer. His hair is pulled back in a
ponytail and he's smoking
non-stop. He looks and
acts part of the street
scene, yet he has an air of
sophistication combined
with business sense.
He is Manhattan-born
and bred. "My family
always encouraged me to
do what I like," says Mr.
Jacobs. Fashion has been
a passion since his youth,
when he worked at Man-
hattan's avant garde
Charivari boutique.
There is a legendary en-
counter between Mr.
Jacobs, then a high school
student, and Perry Ellis,
the late designer who
founded his namesake
company. Mr. Jacobs told
the famous designer he
was interested in a fashion
career, and Mr. Ellis sug-
N1
Couture clothing
by Marc Jacobs
available at Roz
& Sherm.
Young designer
Marc Jacobs
is climbing
to the top.
■
BY CARLA JEAN SCHWARTZ
41,
gested that he attend Parsons School
of Design.
At the Parsons School of Design,
Mr. Jacobs won many student awards,
including the Perry Ellis Golden Thim-
ble Award. While at Parsons, he de-
signed and sold his first line of
hand-knit sweaters.
Like most young designers, he
started his collection on a limited
budget and had to work hard for rec-
ognition. Often, he was not only the
designer but the organizer and pub-
licity agent of his own
fashion shows.
Mr. Jacobs was hired by
and created clothes for
Reuben Thomas Inc.
under the Sketchbook
label. Subsequently, he
joined forces with Robert
Duffy, who is president of
the women's collection for
Perry Ellis. For a brief
period, he designed his
own label with backing
from the Japanese com-
pany, Kashiyama. After the
death of Perry Ellis, he was
named chief designer
there in 1988.
Mr. Jacobs describes his
fall 1991 collection as
filled with "ice cream col-
ors." The choices are
vanilla, chocolate or but-
terscotch in a variety of
patterns, styles and tex-
tures. The houndstooth
checks are inspired by
chocolate chip ice cream,
while the silk polka dot
FALL '91 23