Marc Jacobs Spring 2016

There was a lot going on last night at Marc Jacobs‘ runway show at the Ziegfeld theatre! Leave it to Marc to end fashion week with a bang. Guests arrived at the historic Ziegfeld theater to a marquee sign that read “ONE NIGHT ONLY MARC JACOBS” with the hashtag #MARCJACOBSPREMIERE. The models took an escalator, walked through the lobby, concession area, and into the main theater where many seats were taken out to create the runways. Before their runway entrance, models posed against a step and repeat for trotting down the catwalk. Before the show editors were given free popcorn, soda, and candy and a special t-shirts to celebrate the event. Guests received a Playbill that included a quiz on Marc, the history of the Ziegfeld Theater and ads for Marc Jacobs Beauty and BookMarc.

To say that Marc Jacobs marches to the beat of his own drum would be putting it mildly. An orchestra played in the background as an array of top models walked the runway (Plus! Beth Ditto) including Karen Elson, Bella Hadid, Alex Wek, Joan Smalls, Jamie Bochert, Anna Cleveland, Adriana Lima, Binx Walton, and the busiest model of the season, Lineisy Montero. There were no 90s-inspired looks on this runway, perhaps because that era is so inherently Marc’s. The show was all about faded American glam. Some of the models looked like washed up starlets from a bygone era. The Ziegfeld Theater is the longest surviving single-screen theater in America, thus fitting in with the evening’s theme. The building was built in 1969, but was based on the original which operated from 1927 to 1966. The looks included 40s style evening gowns, Americana themed pieces like a pair of jeans sewn to look like the American flag and high school letterman jackets, cowgirl fringe, sparkly pencil skirts, vintage inspired theater usher uniforms, and capes and skirts featuring Janet Leigh’s screaming visage. It was quite a spectacle, the likes of which the Ziegfeld Theater probably hasn’t seen in quite some time and it looked unlike anything else on the runways this season.

So what starlets came out to celebrate this homage to the bygone days of American theater? Sofia Coppola, Sandra Bernhard, Dianna Argon, and the queen of them all, Bette Midler. Now we’ll just have to see which leading ladies will be stepping out onto red carpets in Marc Jacobs in the upcoming awards season. Karen Elson’s chiffon halter dress should certainly have its moment and we’d love to see someone bold enough to rock the Janet Leigh cape.