Spring/summer 2014 will be a season remembered for hosting quite the fashion milestone. After a 16 year career with the label, Marc Jacobs is stepping down from Louis Vuitton to focus on his own label.  And his last collection certainly didn’t disappoint. The set was nostalgic with references to previous ones. The pieces themselves were beautiful. And best of all the collection received a rare and sought after accolade. Once in a blue moon a designer will be blessed with this phenomenon: a standing ovation from Anna Wintour- the famously judgemental editor of Vogue US.
As much as the phrase ‘it’s the end of an era’ springs to mind, it’s also the beginning of a new and exciting one. Not short of shocking moments in his career at Vuitton, Jacobs left on a suitably dramatic note. Edie Campbell, one of this season’s star British faces, closed the show donned in nothing but a G-string and a littering of the LV symbol, not to mention the handcuffs and chains that had a playful magician’s assistant feel to them.
The collection as a whole was dark, mysterious and dripping with embellishment. Every model donned in an appropriately showgirl style headdress, it was a theatrical event as well as a fashion one. However if the gothic element doesn’t meet your taste, a far more accessible trend within it was that of the street. With frequent and significant use of light denim, the Americanisms seemed a nod to his future with his own label.
Nicholas Ghesquiere is rumoured to be his successor but nothing has been confirmed. So good luck to whomever he, or indeed she, is because they’ve got some rather large shoes to fill!

Jessie Jones

Illustration: Kataleya Orr