Marc by Marc Jacobs

Marc Jacobs was born in New York City on April 9, 1963. After graduating from the High School of Art and Design in 1981 he entered Parson's School of Design.

As a design student at Parson's, Jacobs was the recipient of some of the schools highest honors. He was awarded the Perry Ellis Gold Thimble Award, the Chester Weinberg Gold Thimble Award, and the Design Student of the Year Award all in 1984. While still at Parson's, Jacobs also designed and sold his first collection of hand-knit sweaters. The collection was designed for Ruben Thomas, Inc. under the Sketchbook label. 1984 also brought the beginning of a partnership with Robert Duffy, called Jacobs Duffy Designs Inc. The partnership was based on two very simple concepts: a love for fashion and a commitment to quality and is still in tact today.

In 1986, backed by Kashiyama USA, Inc., Jacobs designed his first collection bearing the Marc Jacobs label. The following year, Jacobs received the distinct honor of being the youngest designer ever to be awarded the fashion industry's highest tribute: The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Perry Ellis Award for New Fashion Talent.

In 1989 Jacobs and Duffy joined Perry Ellis; and were named Vice-President of Women's Design and President respectively. While at Perry Ellis, Jacobs oversaw the design of various women's licensees as well as creating the designer collection. In 1992, the CFDA once again bestowed Jacobs with a distinct honor: the Women's Designer of the Year Award.

In the fall of 1993, Jacobs Duffy Designs Inc. launched their own licensing and design company: Marc Jacobs International Company, L.P. And in 1994, the company signed its first licensing agreement with Renown Look and Mitsubishi for distribution of the Marc Jacobs Designer Collection in Japan. The company has enjoyed a stead and productive relationship with renowned look ever since which includes utilizing them as the sole distributor of Marc Jacobs Collection, Marc by Marc Jacobs and their many licensed products. Today, sales continue to exceed expectations throughout Japan.

Soon after, Iris S.R.L. signed on as the licensee for the men's and women's shoe collections. The factory, located in Venice Italy, continues to produce all Marc Jacobs Collection Shoes.

1997 proved to be a big year for the company. In January Jacobs and Duffy joined Louis Vuitton, Jacobs as Artistic Director and Duffy as Studio Director. In this position, Jacobs works on many of the French luxury house's lines including men's and women's ready-to-wear, shoes, small leather goods, and scarves. Later that year the first Marc Jacobs store opened at 163 Mercer Street in New York's Soho district and Jacobs was recognized by the CFDA a third time, winning Women's Designer of the Year.

At the VH1 Fashion Awards in the fall of 1998, Jacobs received the Women's Designer of the Year Award and in 1999 he was named Accessory Designer of the Year by the CFDA.

Marc Jacobs International launched its first handbag collection in the spring of 2000. Later that year, Juergen Teller shot the company's first ad campaign featuring the new handbag line. Since that time, Teller has continued to collaborate with Jacobs and Duffy on all of the Marc Jacobs ad campaigns. In spring 2002 the women's fragrance ad campaign, featuring Sofia Coppola, was honored with The Fragrance Foundation's award for best advertising campaign for a women's fragrance.

A second Marc Jacobs store was opened on San Francisco's historic Maiden Lane in August 2000. The store features the women's and men's collections as well as Marc by Marc Jacobs, shoes, handbags, scarves and ties, and perfume. In September, the first freestanding men's store opened its doors at 403 Bleecker Street in Manhattan's West Village. December brought the signing of a third licensee. This time the company paired with Isa Seta, an Italian company based outside Milan, to produce men's and women's ties and scarves.

Jacobs introduced the secondary line, Marc by Marc Jacobs, in the fall of 2001 to rave reviews. The clothing and accessories in this line are sold at fine department stores and specialty stores nationwide and it has continued to grow exponentially and receive extreme amounts of press coverage.

In September 2001 the company launched its first perfume collection in cooperation with Parfums Givenchy. The collection includes perfume, eau de toilette, body cream, body lotion, shower gel, hydrating body mist and hair shine. The launch took place on Pier 54 on the Hudson River and was staged as a benefit to a dozen downtown New York charities.

Spring 2002 events included a new accessories store at 385 Bleecker Street in New York City, a Marc by Marc Jacobs boutique at 403 Bleecker and the relocation of the men's store to 405 Bleecker Street. In April 2002 the first multi-brand store was opened in Aoyama, Japan. The store is three levels and features men's and women's collections, men's and women's Marc by Marc Jacobs, handbags, shoes, scarves and ties, sunglasses, and perfume.

June brought another CFDA award for Jacobs, this time it was Men's Wear Designer of the Year. This award coincides with the relocation of the men's wear showroom to Milan where it is being produced by the company's newest licensee, Gibo.

Looking forward to fall 2002, the company is planning the launch of the men's fragrance as well as the opening of multiple stores in the Far East. The new fragrance, called Marc Jacobs Men, is fig based and includes notes of bergamont, cypress, cedarwood and moss. The packaging features heavy glass bottles with rounded edges that are pure, simple and modern. The launch of the fragrance will happen in conjunction with the spring 2003-fashion show in New York City in September 2002. The show will feature both the men's and women's collections. The men's fragrance collection will ultimately feature eau de toilette, after-shave, and hair and body shampoo, deodorant and after-shave gel.

New locations to open this year will include: a collection store at Landmark and a Marc by Marc Jacobs boutique at Pacific Place in Hong Kong; a collection location at Regent and a Marc by Marc Jacobs location at Breeze in Taiwan; and the first ever accessories flagship store in Kobe.

If you have questions regarding this information please call the Marc Jacobs Public Relations Department at (212) 343-0222.