Marc by Marc Jacobs Fall 2012 Ready-to-Wear Collection on Style.com: Runway Review

Marc by Marc Jacobs

NEW YORK, February 14, 2012

By Tim Blanks

The rarely umbilical connection between Marc Jacobs' two collections was made even less so today by a Marc by Marc Jacobs show that literally scoured away every physical trace of the extravagant melancholia of last night's signature presentation. Not one solitary shred remained of Rachel Feinstein's extraordinary set in the Lexington Avenue Armory. True, it's always been that way with Jacobs' dual presentations, but there seemed something especially brutal about the way the fragile mood of one show was so rapidly unhinged by the stentorian stomp of another.

Brutal, but also significant, in that the collection today had a dark, martial theme. Frederic Sanchez's soundtrack was all Front 242 and Public Image Ltd's This Is What You Want…This Is What You Get, marching music for a new model army. The shoes were flat boots, the headgear was little drummer boy hats, the men wore military coats and felt officer's pants, the women were clad in somber wives-at-the-front dresses with stiff black underskirts peeking out below dark floral prints. Of course, that wasn't the whole story. The strictness was softened by outbreaks of bouclé, mohair, Lurex, lamé, and perforated velvet, which, like the sparkly-buckled pilgrim shoes in which Jacobs took his bow, pointed to pleasures beyond the regimented pale. Maybe the designer was, after all, reiterating last night's message: In the end, fashion is all about fantasy.

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A.F. Vandevorst	A.L.C.	A.P.C.
Acne	A Détacher	Akris
Alberta Ferretti	Albino	Alexander McQueen
Alexander Wang	Alexandre Herchcovitch	Alexis Mabille
Alice + Olivia	Altuzarra	Andrew Gn
Anna Sui	Ann Demeulemeester	Anne Valérie Hash
Ann-Sofie Back Atelje	Anthony Vaccarello	Antonio Berardi
Antonio Marras	Aquascutum	Aquilano.Rimondi
Araks	Azzaro

Badgley Mischka	Balenciaga	Bally
Balmain	Banana Republic	Band of Outsiders
Barbara Bui	Barbara Casasola	Barbara Tfank
Basso & Brooke	BCBG Max Azria	Bebe
Behnaz Sarafpour	Belstaff	Betsey Johnson
Bibhu Mohapatra	Bill Blass	Billy Reid
BLK DNM	Blumarine	Bottega Veneta
Bouchra Jarrar	Brood	Burberry Prorsum

Cacharel	Calla	Calvin Klein Collection
Camilla and Marc	Carlos Miele	Carolina Herrera
Carven	Catherine Malandrino	Cédric Charlier
Celine	Central Saint Martins	Chado Ralph Rucci
Chadwick Bell	Chalayan	Chanel
Charlotte Ronson	Chloé	Chris Benz
Christian Cota	Christian Dior	Christian Siriano
Christophe Lemaire	Christopher Kane	Christopher Raeburn
Clements Ribeiro	Collette Dinnigan	Comme des Garçons
Commuun	Costello Tagliapietra	Costume National
Creatures of Comfort	Creatures of the Wind	Cushnie et Ochs
Custo Barcelona	Cynthia Rowley

Daks	Damir Doma	Danielle Scutt
Daryl K	David Koma	Dean Quinn
Dennis Basso	Derek Lam	Diane von Furstenberg
Diesel Black Gold	Dion Lee	Dirk Bikkembergs
DKNY	Dolce & Gabbana	Donna Karan
Doo.Ri	Douglas Hannant	Dries Van Noten
Dsquared²	Duro Olowu

Edun	Elie Saab	Elie Tahari
Elizabeth and James	Emilia Wickstead	Emilio de la Morena
Emilio Pucci	Emporio Armani	Erdem
Erin Fetherston	Etro