F  L  A  U  N  T

![Alt Text]() We all waited anxiously during the course of this entire New York fall show season for 6PM on Wednesday night, the last show on the calendar for many reasons. Foremost, because none of us had seen any great fashion the whole week and were dying to see something good. Upon entering, the Park Avenue Armory was in near darkness with three small rows of black steel stool placed in the middle of the vast space. There was an immediate sense that the scale of the show was much more intimate as the audience was about seventy five percent less, even considering the smaller amount of guests in recent seasons. And at precisely 6PM and in a span of eight minutes or less, Marc Jacobs delivered a magnificent collection in exactly forty outfits with each model walking in darkness until they reached the white spotlight in front of the audience. Their silhouette reflected back on the black, shiny floor while the American Contemporary Music Ensemble performed a live version of ‘Aheym’ by Bryce Dessner. Christy Turlington closed the dynamic and lyrical show in a black, all feather and black beaded dress highlighting a collection with a wide breadth and scope of high fashion. The proportions, like the setting, was much more scaled down than the super size garments of the last two seasons. The clothes were smaller, but not the spirit. Somewhere in between Christy Turlington’s last feather dress and Karlie Kloss’ charcoal grey flare coat and black leather pants, was a collection that had many of the Marc Jacobs signature look over the years – the big bow blouse paired with a gingham pant suit, the long mock neck green silk sequined long sleeve dress, or the pink floral print taffeta dress with ruffle neckline. The volume of the clothes had shrunken to manageable proportions this time, but still retained their slight oversize especially in the range of coats like a large collar, red plaid, wool coat worn over a fuschia taffeta print skirt. There were great cocktail dresses like the strapless white taffeta with black floral print and long train and black feather corset alongside the black stain strap dress with ruffle shoulders. The light blue leaf petals strapless dress and the bright yellow taffeta long flare dress, worn by Adut Akech, were masterpieces from the incredible workmanship of the atelier. A great combination of glamour and ease was the bluish sparkling feather cape and the long sleeve floral print dress. In the middle of the exquisite couture level clothes, was a simple cashmere blue-gray Shetland sweater worn with a white cotton blouse and black flared short wool skirt. Being surrounded by all that glamour, the clothes didn’t diminish the desirability of this simple ‘day’ look. This emphasis throughout the show on day clothes or more commercial garments, attracts a wider range of customers without giving up on the fashion quotient and is a critical component to the brand’s financial health. Here, witness the solid range of outerwear in both the fashion as well as commercial iterations – gray shorter sleeve cocoon wool coat, shorter sleeve cocoon wool coat, leopard print alpaca coat, black and white windowpane cape coat, silk satin floral print flare coat, light green cashmere belted coat, furry gold black leaves spotted coat, or a brown and orange cashmere horizontal stripe coat, black and white windowpane cape coat, silk satin floral print flare coat, light green cashmere belted coat, furry gold black leaves spotted coat, or a brown and orange cashmere horizontal stripe coat. Despite the glamour and couture fashion on display, the show felt less an exercise in abstract fashion than say Spring 2019 or Fall 2018. Here and now these clothes, even the extravagant dresses, are easy to wear and look at because they were made to evoke emotion, not intellect. And what’s here is also an attempt to take back the definition of fashion, especially at the designer level fashion, that has been taken over by the streetwear craze as the only way to woo younger audiences and consumer segment. This Marc Jacobs show may point the way designer fashion can succeed without succumbing to streetwear.

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Photos courtesy of Marc Jacobs