new york - women's fall/winter - day eight

MARC JACOBS
after last seasons controversial collection, and the two hour delay that infuriated the fashion press, marc jacobs did a complete 180 and not only started his show on time, actually make that a sonic youth concert, but he also abandoned the overt sexuality of his surrealist inspired spring presentation. there was a definite sobriety this season. a reaction perhaps to the critics who accused the designer of entertaining his fancy too much with his last outing rather than taking into consideration the actual needs of his customers. or it could very well be a reaction to the failing u.s. economy. whatever his reasons are, one thing this collection is, like all his other collections, is that it still remains extremely provocative. while spring was all about lightness and a playful sense of humor, this season it was replaced by an almost industrial meets sci-fi meets belle epoque meets eighties italian power dressing. sounds confusing, well it actually is. this collection might even take the cake as the most confusing collection of the season away from prada's menswear presentation a month ago. as abstract as his references and executions are, the bottom line is that there are many clothes here for women to choose from. there were lots of superbly constructed coats, rich velvet evening dresses, and all the quirky individual pieces that will melt the hearts of the legions of marc jacobs fans. frankly i cant seem to elucidate my opinion about this collection. i keep thinking that at any moment now a light bulb will go off and then all of a sudden i've made up my mind about it already. it hasn't yet, but if marc jacobs can make me think of his collection almost a week after the fact, i guess in a lot of ways he's succeeded yet again.



photo: style.com