The marching band had packed up and headed back to Pennsylvania by the time Marc Jacobs' second collection, Marc by Marc Jacobs, hit the runway. But its musicians' exuberance would have been inappropriate anyway. Maybe a symphony would have been better, with so many ballerina-on-her-day-off looks speeding down the runway. Layering, of course, is a signature of this secondary line, and for spring, Jacobs topped unitards with everything from a parachute jacket to a floral-print silk dress.
There were also arm-warmers, leggings, and stirrup pants, which, sadly, still aren't ripe for a comeback. Anyone in the audience old enough to remember wearing them the first time got a good laugh, at least.
As befits a dancer, he used soft, cozy materials like French terry, cotton sateen, voile, and summer twill, in a palette of mostly pastels with shots of black and navy, and precious few of his signature zany prints. Jacobs helped catapult the category of designer jeans, but the denim he showed Tuesday wasn't of the standard five-pocket variety. Instead, he cut it into baggy pants, flouncy dresses, and overalls with a retro vibe. Was that one-shoulder indigo jersey dress a Fame moment? Could be. But our vote for best revival goes to a less literal, more modern interpretation of that eighties classic, the cream terry tee with a scooped back.
