Marc Jacobs

Marc Jacobs is an American fashion designer born in 1963. He expressed an early interest in design and graduated from the High School of Art and Design in 1981, and continued his studies at Parsons School of Design in New York. A talented student, Marc won two Gold Thimble awards and a Design Student of the Year award while attending Parsons. He also designed and sold his first line of hand-knit sweaters while still a student.

In 1986, Jacobs introduced his first collection bearing the Marc Jacobs label, in conjunction with Kashiyama USA Inc., which led to another award, the Perry Ellis Award for New Fashion Talent. Jacobs joined the Perry Ellis company in 1988, and left Perry Ellis in 1993 to offer clothing under the Marc Jacobs International Company line. The first menswear collection of the company appeared in 1994. Jacobs joined Louis Vuitton as creative director in 1997, and launched their first ready-to-wear collection. A secondary line, Marc by Marc Jacobs, was offered beginning in 2001.