Marc Jacobs

Different. I think that is the best way to describe the Marc Jacobs spring 2008 show - just different. Different from other Marc Jacobs shows - yes of course, different from the other shows in the week - yes definitely, but different in a sense of way out there.

Unlike other designers, sellability and wearability were not key factors in creating this collection. Forget about stepping out of the fashion box, Jacobs created his own box, one in which he sits alone. Well, at least in New York. What Jacobs produced on Monday night was something you might expect from Galliano, not typically from a New York designer.

If I speak of this collection in terms of how much I adore it and would wear it, I wouldn't have much to say. However, if I speak about this collection in a subjective open-minded manner, I would have to say I love it, simply because, with this collection Jacobs is not really selling clothes, but more an idea.

Think of it as a Broadway production, with not so much the clothes being the main character but the underlying theme being the core of it all.

Besides the fact that the show started two hours late (maybe done purposely), it started with Jacobs taking his show bow first, then the finale pieces and then ended with daywear.

Without delving further, what does this say really? Maybe something along the lines of how we live in a backwards society, how maybe sometimes it feels like we are going backwards in our own lives instead of forward.

The clothes were really a mis-mash of ideas, done purposely of course. From mini numbered t-shirt dresses to boxy '40s-inspired suits and layered looks. There were granny florals mixed with polka-dots, red mixed with turquoise, slits on everything including pants, sheer revealing fabrics and underwear exposed.

It almost looked as if some of the pieces were about to fall off, like someone got dressed in a rush in the dark and had no sense of what they were putting on. Or maybe, someone who was about to get caught having an affair and had to throw on their clothes in a frantic hurry. Yes, this is what most of the show felt like, like everything was just thrown on.

Was the Jacobs show about sex? Well, if you consider my previous statement, as well as the fact that most of the models had exposed underpinnings and there were background screen shots of women with nothing but their skivvies, I would think so, but not that in-your-face brash kind of sexiness.

There was also a sense of confusion about the show and the clothes. Above and beyond the backward presentation, the looks were extremely varied; it went from a woman in pearls to a woman in peril of running out of clothes that she had to wear everything at once (the final look). I think that this points to the fact that women today are confused about who they are and what they wear and are constantly trying to change their look to fit in or stand out.

As much as this show had depth of character, when choosing looks for myself to wear I prefer last spring's PLTs (pretty little things). Like I mentioned in last spring’s show report, love it or hate it, we just can’t get enough of Marc.

Some of the more "normal" looks, and I guess some of my more favorites. And they are only favorites beacause I could actually see myself wearing them as opposed to the rest of the collection.

To view the collecion, visist style.com.

Photos: style.com