Fashion Wrap: Marc Jacobs Divides Critics, How To Wear Military And More!

Critics Divided Over Marc Jacobs NY Fashion Show

21st OF February 2012

Fashion is all about fantasy and dressing up. But Marc Jacobs might have taken the concept slightly too far with his show in New York last week.

The collection was Victoriana via 90s rave culture, as one Vogue staffer rapturously described it, with gargantuan proportions, fuzzy hats, swampy colours and buckled shoes.

Unfortunately, critics were rapidly divided as to whether the result was a divine flight or fancy or just plain ugly.

A particular bone of contention? The gigantic hats in swathes of cheap-looking synthetic material, looking for all the world as if they'd just come from a Love Parade in 1995.

This opens up an old issue in fashion: is the responsibility of the designer to make women look good, or indulge their own ideas about proportion and design?

It's irrefutable that nobody could call the Marc Jacobs models, who were swaddled in up to four layers of material, elegant.

However, critics are also pointing to his fabric choices as ill-suited and passe, rooted in paisley, crushed velvet and crochet.

It is, as one critic put it, 'not a red-carpet collection' - celebrities won't be rushing out to exhibit the pieces, unless they're very brave - but it definitely piqued interest.

Do you find the collection intriguing or just alienating?

Image: Marc Jacobs Spring/Summer 2012, courtesy Vogue.

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