The Dramatic Style Evolution of Marc Jacobs and His Muse Lil’ Kim at NYFW Over the Years
Charlie Carballo
Executive Digital Director
Marc Jacobs really brought streetwear to the streets — Park Avenue — in performance art-like flair on Thursday for the conclusion of New York Fashion Week.
The designer found inspiration for the collection from Netflix docu-series “Hip-Hop Evolution,” a retrospective chronicling the influence of rap from the 1970s to the ‘90s.
“This collection is my representation of the well-studied dressing up of casual sportswear,” Jacobs explained in program notes. “It is an acknowledgement and gesture of my respect for the polish and consideration applied to fashion from a generation that will forever be the foundation of youth culture street style.”
Baggy trousers, gold chains, slouch boots and mile-thick platforms: Jacobs’ wearable love letter to hip-hop’s musical and fashion-forward peak was obvious.
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And seated among the front row was an apt guest — his longtime friend and muse Lil’ Kim.
The rapper and the designer have had a mutual appreciation for their respective talents over the years, as manifested in their own crafts.
Though she has rapped the praises of “diamonds and Armani suits, Adrienne Vittadini and Chanel 9 boots” in “Get Money,” her devotion to Jacobs is unquestionable: “Hold on let me take this call Marc Jacobs on line two,” she rapped in her track “O Let’s Do It.”
And there was more lyrical love on her 2000 album “The Notorious K.I.M.,” in which she rhymed, “Louis Vuitton shoes and a whole lot of booze” in the track “No Matter What They Say.”
The feelings are mutual. Jacobs tapped Kim to front a campaign for Louis Vuitton in 1999, when he was serving as creative director of the luxury label. Photographed by David LaChapelle, the MC was transformed into living Louis Vuitton logomania — completely nude and painted by stencil with branding.
Over the years, they’ve had equally dramatic evolutions, both artistically and physically.
For more than 10 years, Kim been a fixture at Jacobs’ NYFW shows, including spring ’07, spring ’06 (where she performed at his after-party) and fall and spring ’05 shows. She was also his guest at the 2005 Met Costume Gala, wearing a hot pink maxi teamed with black peep-toe heels.
