Were still reeling from the news that Marc Jacobs tenure at Louis Vuitton has come to an end after 16 years. The designer and his partner, Robert Duffy, are leaving the house but staying within the LVMH fold to concentrate on growing the Marc Jacobs brand, which is expected to be floated on the stock market in three years.
Post-show WWD sat down with Jacobs, Duffy and LVMH chairman, Bernard Arnault, to talk about what happens next. Here are the five big things that we learnt...
Jacobs only decided that this mornings show would be his last for Louis Vuitton...this morning.
Mr. Arnault left it to Robert and me. Two weeks ago when I arrived back in Paris, he said, The future of Marc Jacobs will require so much of your and Roberts attention that at some point you will have to decide when you will make it your last show. But he left it to us to decide. And we had just probably brought on by the [WWD] story and all the rumours we just decided like [today]. Marc Jacobs
Which means that the show wasnt, in fact, a retrospective.
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 Michaels company, decided that [last-minute]. So again, whatever. Marc Jacobs
Despite all the rumours there is no successor lined up to take the job.
No decision is done. We have to, after the show, think and decide. But no decision will be made immediately. Bernard Arnault
Bernard Arnault has a pretty high opinion of Marc Jacobs.
We have an incomparable relationship. I think Marc is one of, if not the, most talented people that Ive ever worked with. Bernard Arnault
The future holds a major overhaul and expansion of all things Marc Jacobs.
Weve started to reposition Marc by Marc, so we hired a new design team. Were going to start increasing the collection handbag business and were going to start working on distribution. We really have to redefine what were doing. Its almost like bringing everything back to square one. Robert Duffy
