Marc Jacobs to Leave Louis Vuitton
Benoit Tessier/Reuters Marc Jacobs at the end of the Louis Vuitton show in Paris on Wednesday.
PARIS â€" Marc Jacobs is leaving Louis Vuitton after 16 years, to concentrate on his own eponymous line, which is now nearing $1 billion in value, according to a high-level executive at LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
Although the source would not be named and there is, as yet, no public announcement, Mr. Jacobs confirmed his departure backstage.
His notes in the program for the Louis Vuitton spring 2014 show on Wednesday ended with the words: “For Robert Duffy and Bernard Arnault, All my love, Always.†The message referred to Mr. Jacobs’s business partner, Mr. Duffy, and to the chairman and chief executive of LVMH, Mr. Arnaut.
The intensely black show had many elements â€" a carousel, a grand hotel elevator and twin escalators â€" that had been stage sets at previous LV shows. And the showgirl clothes, with their giant Folies Bergère feather headdresses and jet-embroidered chiffon, gave the impression that the party performance was over, not least because bluejeans were often worn as a counterpart to the finery.
At the start of the show, which received a standing ovation, the graffiti lettering on hose harked back to the work of Stephen Sprouse, and one of the early art collaborations with Marc Jacobs in 2000. But this time around, accessories and especially the 16 small and unremarkable Louis Vuitton purses, did not steal the show.
Now the attention shifts to who will take over at Louis Vuitton, which is the cash cow of the multibillion dollar luxury group.
The bets are on Nicolas Ghesquière, formerly the designer for Balenciaga, owned by luxury group Kering (formerly PPR). But Delphine Arnault, Mr. Arnault’s daughter, made a gesture at the Vuitton show to indicate that her lips were sealed.
