Louis Vuitton bids farewell to iconic designer Marc Jacobs

When Marc Jacobs first joined Louis Vuitton sixteen years ago in 1997, the brand was mainly known for their luxury leather goods and travel cases. Since Jacobs began working as creative director, the brand has seen a dramatic change over the years,

from what has been said to have been a “stodgy luggage house, to a global fashion presence.” Jacobs was assigned to create the company's new ready-to-wear line for men and women, alongside an accessories line. It was the first time that Louis Vuitton launched itself as a fashion label and since then they have never looked back. In 1998, Jacobs made his runway debut featuring the brands new collection, which showcased only one bag, a basic white messenger bag. The show itself was minimalistic, as Jacobs wanted to reconnect with the brands roots, using the simple luxury of the first grey trunk that Vuitton designed as inspiration. In an interview with the Telegraph, Jacobs mentioned how he wanted to create a functional piece, something that everyone would use every day: “It was not about the ‘It bag’ or anything. All of that came afterwards, with the collaborations with Sprouse, Murakami, creating new styles, new bag crazes. But in the beginning it was all about something we take for granted. We couldn't figure out how to start it any other way.” Little did he know, that it was the beginning of a new era at Louis Vuitton.

After sixteen years,

Marc Jacobs leaves Louis Vuitton

After the success of the brands ready-to-wear lines, Jacobs went on to pioneer daring, new art collaborations. He managed to bring art and fashion together unlike any designer had before, working with famous artists like Takashi Murakami, Stephen Sprouse and Richard Prince. These creative pairings had an immediate effect and ended in the birth of iconic pieces, such as the coveted flower/LV monogram handbags. It has been said that it was Jacobs, with his daring collaborations that sparked the craze for branded and monogrammed luxury designs. He wanted to re-establish Louis Vuitton as a status brand, as mentioned in an interview with Vogue: “Vuitton is a luxury brand – it’s functional, but it’s also a status accessory.” The resulting collections, featuring bags covered with graffiti and monograms, was estimated to bring in 5 million dollars in their first year alone, according to Vogue. In 2001 Louis Vuitton won the Accessories Council ACE awards for best accessories collection and ad campaign, thanks to Jacobs vision. His bold move to incorporate celebrities like Jennifer Lopez in Louis Vuitton ad campaign, turned out to be a great success, inspiring further partnerships with other celebrities such as Kanye West in 2006. Year after year, Jacobs has managed to create pieces that are the perfect combination of design, minimalism and luxury, finding his inspiration during his travels, in pop-art and Hitchcock heroines. Within just ten years working as creative director for Louis Vuitton, Jacobs had managed to quadruple the company’s profits and doubled it turnover every five years. Although the LVMH does not announce sales according to brand, it is estimated that Louis Vuitton sales currently top 7 billion dollars and account for at least half of the company’s commissionable profits.

After months of speculation, it still came as a shock to the fashion industry when LVMH CEO and Chairman Bernard Arnault announced Jacobs departure from Louis Vuitton. This announcement came after the brands Spring/Summer 2014 show in the old Louvre in Paris. In what was to be Jacobs final show, he created a beautiful set that brought together key pieces from his past elaborate shows, such as old-fashioned elevators, a set of escalators and carousels. Jacobs stated that he shall focus on building up his own fashion labels; Marc Jacobs, Marc by Marc Jacobs and children wear line, Little Marc, as well as expanding his cosmetic line which launched in August in the US. Arnault also announced that the brand Marc Jacobs will be opened to the US stock market within the next two to three years. Since LVMH and Marc Jacobs first joined forces sixteen years ago, the label has boomed, going from 20 million dollars in sales to close to a billion dollars. Although Jacobs and business partner Robert Duffy are saying goodbye to Louis Vuitton to start an “accelerated” growth of Marc Jacobs, they still remain working within the LVMH group, as the brand remain under the operational control of LVMH. Arnault states that there is huge potential for the brand to expand world-wide, but that is requires full dedication and investment from Jacobs and Duffy, leaving little time to focus on other brands like Louis Vuitton. In a interview with WWD, Jacobs said: “I know people will perceive this in whatever way they want, they will read into all sorts of things. The choices that I made were based on something completely different. This was never my intention to be the last show. The three of us, with Michael’s company, decided that [last-minute].”

It comes as no surprise that behind closed doors, some still debate whether Jacobs departure from Louis Vuitton was hundred percent orchestra by the designer and his business partner, or not. Rumor has it that Arnault has been setting the stage since November 2012, to have former Balenciaga designer Nicolas Ghesquiére step in as artistic director. He was accused by Pinault, the CEO of Kering and major rival of LVMH, of trying to steal one of their star designers and now it seems as that Ghesquiére is the main candidate to replace Jacobs. Nevertheless, Jacobs relationship with Arnault does not to seem to have been affected by his leaving of Louis Vuitton. Arnault expressed his admiration for the designer, claiming that he is “one of the most talented people, and even the most talented with which I have ever worked.” He concluded that the relationship between the three, Jacobs, Duffy and himself is “absolutely fantastic." Without a doubt, Marc Jacobs will continue to conquer the hearts of his fans with his eponymous labels and carry on his success in which ever brands he invests himself in.

Vivian Hendriksz