Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton

 

Watching this documentary as part of the fcp course was really amazing, as I was unable to find this prior to the course on any other website, but still wanted to watch the documentary. Following the man who really invented the fashion phenomenon which is grunge, the documentary delves into work for Marc Jacobs own brand, and with his collaborations as Art Director at Louis Vuitton for the spring/summer collection 2007. Before this documentary, Marc Jacobs process to creating these extraordinary fashion pieces had never been filmed, and so this documentary gave a great and unique insight into America's most influential fashion designer of this generation. 

Looking at the processes which occur between initial ideas and creation is fascinating, and that's my favourite part about this film, it's not afraid to show you exactly what happens between the production and the catwalk. I loved watching the ideas come to life, beautiful fashion products created from rough ideas; such as Marc Jacobs fresh idea to piece together many iconic Louis Vuitton bags onto one accessory.

"It might be a good idea...
we'll just use a little of everything" 

- Marc Jacobs

It's these crazy ideas that actually are brought to life that really made me appreciate Marc Jacobs work throughout the documentary. His thoughts for designs spring from anywhere and everywhere, and that really is a true natural designer who was born with the innate ability to produce beautiful fashion items.

His process of making these items is very rough, using a cut and past strategy with no dress forms used. Instead, Marc and his team would pin bleached flowers, frayed fabrics or distressed materials straight onto the model, before creating the drawing which would be sent to the workshop team. This allowed Marc Jacobs to work with ideas and almost adopt a trial and error technique to see what would work best.

The documentary also reiterates something which I have found from many of the films and books that I have read whilst here at university; that inspiration can come from anywhere and from many Marc Jacobs looks everywhere for inspiration for his collaborations with Louis Vuitton, and often this comes from his love of art. This documentary delves deeper into where some of his greatest inspirations came from, showing his meetings with Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama to create a Louis Vuitton bag which is completely decorated in dots.

I also think that Marc Jacobs adapted this idea he used for Louis Vuitton for his own brand, based in New York. Using many designs which featured different sizes of circled dots covering products, such as his fragrance 'Dot', suggests how this Japanese artist played a huge role in his design ideas and thought processes.

The documentary focuses on the two main shows that Marc Jacobs is involved with during this spring season, his own brand in NYC and the Louis Vuitton catwalk in Paris. Whilst both use intricate detailing and vast amounts of colours on the catwalk, the atmosphere between each brand workshop is completely different. Marc Jacobs' branded workshop is much more laid back, as the worker describe it as feeling homely and the other members of the team as staff members, but Louis Vuitton's workshop is much more rushed. I think this is due to the close relationships Marc has with his collages in his own studio in New York, as this encourages the seamstresses and artists to work throughout the night as they enjoy it there. However in Paris, as that relationship is not there, and Marc Jacobs rarely sees the production team, therefore creating a much less friendly and relaxing atmosphere. The expectation for Paris as a fashion city is also extremely higher than American cities, with Paris being the capital of luxury fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton. I think that this creates different pressures around the globe, as represented by the rush before the live catwalk in Paris, with the last garment reaching the venue only seconds before the show began!

   

Left-Marc Jacobs NYC spring catwalk 2007. Right-Louis Vuitton Paris spring catwalk 2007,

Overall, I really enjoyed this documentary, and found it very inspiring. I have never really witnessed how the fashion garments are translated from drawing to the catwalk, and this has given me a much better insight into the ways in which fashion pieces are put together to create a catwalk show. I would highly recommend watching this documentary if you can get your hands on it, as it really does express the passion that Marc Jacobs has for clothing and accessories, and is a really great backstage pass into the mind of a fashion genius!
#fcpreflection