Marc Gets Pretty

Marc Jacobs presented a sophisticated and feminine collection on Monday evening at one of Fashion Week’s most anticipated shows. Apart from a few shots of buttery yellow, Jacobs stuck to mainly grey and black, therefore, enforcing the ongoing theme of colorless clothes for Fall 2010.

Silhouettes were simple, uncomplicated and modest, but Jacobs managed to keep his girls looking modern and interesting through the details. Texture played an important role in the collection and we saw plush velvet, extravagant fur, chunky knits, embroidered eyelet and sequins.

Fabrics ranged from soft and sheer to nubby wools, to crosshatch menswear suiting, but the overall feeling was feminine. The mixtures of fabrics were, at times, unconventional, but that is exactly what we’ve come to expect from Jacobs. His ability to pair a Fair Isle sweater with a patterned skirt and make it work is only something a true artist can command.

Shoulders remained strong, but were brought in considerably from Jacobs’ Fall 2009 proportion and crisp tailored menswear jackets still looked soft and pretty. Jacobs showed some mitered stripes, a ditsy floral dress and a muted water color gown, but other than that, the collection was relatively free of print and pattern which helped to maintain the thread of simplicity.

Dresses and skirts dominated the runway with lengths falling from below the knee to the ground. Trousers were generously wide -- a nice departure from all of the skinny pants we’ve seen for the last several seasons. While most pieces did not reveal a lot of skin, Jacobs sprinkled in a few dresses with plunging necklines that would otherwise have been quite serious.

Overall, Jacobs presented a refreshingly safe and refined collection in terms of what we may have come to expect from him. The clothes are wearable, understandable and pretty. Now, if they were only affordable!

Photo Credits: Style.com