Marc Jacobs Pays Tribute To Vivienne Westwood in Spring 2023 Collection
Jacobs returned to the Park Avenue Armory presenting a collection full of punk-utilitarianism. Discover all the details below.

Marc Jacobs returned Thursday night at the Park Avenue Armory with an intimate runway show of his Spring 2023 Ready-to-Wear collection in New York. Drawing inspiration from Jacobs’ heroes, the collection cited the late designer Vivienne Westwood as its main influence. “With the turn of another season in our never-ending quest for value, significance and possibility,” he wrote, “it is through these collections that we continue our ever-growing notions of beauty and craftsmanship.”
He dedicated the program “to all our heroes of the past and the young heroes of the present,” and ended with a quote from Westwood: “Fashion makes life better, and I think it’s a lovely, generous thing. to do for other people.”
Titled “Heroes,” Jacobs paid homage to the past and present with a collection that drew heavily on a military and utilitarian dress, but there were also strong crossover lines of homespun craftsmanship, youth culture (punk, grunge), gilded glamour and a strong homage to Westwood, turned into a very artistic collection.

With a runway plunged into darkness and a single row of chairs for attendees, Marc Jacobs launched his models to the sound of violinist Jennifer Koh, who played Philip Glass’ “Einstein on the Beach.”
The venue space consisted of a single row of chairs for show attendees, with a strobe light defining the darkroom runway; a cast of 45 unisex/gender-fluid models wore the latest builds from Jacobs’ collection, all wearing 45 pairs of Kiki boots with exaggerated platforms.
Referencing the title of her collection, Vivienne Westwood was the heroine of many and that includes Jacobs as well. Both were representatives of countercultural movements, each in their own way. They always knew how to read the street and understand the youth, what was going on and make clothes accordingly. Therefore, this collection was a well-deserved tribute to someone who not only brought infinity of beauty but, without exaggeration, altered the course of history more than once.


References to the mother of punk were present everywhere, from the spiky hairstyles, the pearls, the defiant way the models walked with their arms crossed and of course in the complexity of the silhouettes that Marc knows how to do like few others in the fashion industry.
The show began with denim and utilitarian garments reworked and dazzled with cargo pockets and patchwork skirts with jackets turned inside out. Recycled jeans created huge patchwork coats and the frayed, neon-dyed fray of skirts brought punk and grunge together in harmony. Furs, opera gloves and his famous diamond-studded kiki boots brought New York glamour to the runway. Oversized, heavy, almost blanket-like jackets in different materials, pinched tops from the 1981 “Pirates” collection and Fall 1995 appeared reinterpreted in knits and knee-length dresses. The Victorian bustles she loved so much appeared in the form of jackets tied at the waist and long dresses.



In addition, many celebrities and fashion personalities attended the show, from Emily Ratajkowski and Ashley Graham to the iconic Anna Sui, Debbie Harry and Debi Mazar.
Having been off the calendar ever since, this stunning runway show beat the official start of New York Fashion Week by a week and a day. Passion, love and fabulous craftsmanship made this collection an ode to Westwood but also to what fashion was and should be all along. A space where they meet in constant search and rethinking of all forms of beauty.


