Marc Jacobs Reveals Why His Last NYFW Collection Was Never Produced

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Marc Jacobs admitted as such during a candid Zoom interview with Edward Enninful as part of Vogue's "Global Conversations" series, where they discussed topics ranging from how the coronavirus crisis has impacted creativity to how the designer has been working while quarantined. (He's currently living at the Mercer Hotel.)

"You see, we weren't able to produce our collection," he said of the Fall 2020 line, which he shipped to the showrooms in Paris after showing in New York. "Then all of this started with the coronavirus. Italy, if you remember, shut first... There were no buyers going into the showroom because they all left Paris early after. There were no fabric orders placed because we place our fabric orders based on orders from stores.

"If they can't see the collection, then how can they buy it?" he continued. "And if you can't order the fabric from Italy, which the fabrics are all from, you can't receive the fabric and if we can't receive the fabric, we can't make the collection. So, therefore, we weren't able to produce that incredible show that we did. Which is a shame."

That collection, which featured pared down shapes and '60s mod references, was seen as one of the highlights of this past NYFW (as Jacobs' shows usually are) thanks to some excellent daywear and a new sense of simplicity he explored this season. What's more, Jacobs expressed that it was unfortunate that he couldn't ride on the energy that collection brings to the rest of his business.

"I mean the reality of [the] cost and the price of those clothes, it's produced in such small numbers, at such a great expense, that it's always been something that is more about its halo effect and it's done to inspire," he said. "And of course, you see it in editorials and you see it on the red carpet... It's a kind of lab for ideas and thoughts and feelings and I think that's the role that couture has always played."

He added: "But its thoughts and effects and ideas affect many more, in the cosmetics that are inspired by it or fragrances or accessories that come from it. Those are things that reach many more people." As for the future, he's not sure how and where exactly his team will resume, saying that he doesn't have the answer to that yet.

However, he did end on a hopeful note when asked if there are any positive changes that could come out of this current climate. "If we can do one positive thing, whatever it is in terms of the environment, being kinda, creation, if we can contribute to the benevolence of this world we live in then we'll be making a huge incredible well-learned, smart step forward."

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