Designer Research Assignment: The Influence of Fashion Designers

Marc Jacobs and Kimberly Newport-Mimran Chelsea Gilbert

Evolution of Fashion FSH 200

Wednesday, February 11th 2015

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Marc Jacobs

Biography:

Marc Jacobs was born in April of 1963 in New York, New York where he was lived

with his mother, father, brother, and sister. Jacobs Father died when he was only 7

years old (Nolen 1).

“As his Mother suffered from mental illness, he went to live with his paternal

grandmother in New York, whom he credits as his inspiration” (“Marc Jacobs” 1).

His Grandmother was the one who supported him and encouraged him to get into

design, she even taught him how to knit. After graduating from The High School of

Art and Design in New York, Jacobs attended Parsons School Of Design. His final

project of designing sweaters “earned him with some of the schools highest honors.”

The collection was then sold to a boutique that Jacobs previously worked at while

still in high school called Chirivari (Nolen 1).

Jacobs received two Gold Thimble awards from fellow designers, Perry Ellis and

Chester Weinberg as well as the design student of the year award 1984 when he

graduated from Parsons (Belloir et al. 110).

Jacobs began to design labels for a clothing manufacturer called Reuben Thomas Inc.

(Nolen1) where he met Robert Duffy who goes on to becomes Jacobs long time

business partner (Belloir et al. 110).

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In 1988 after having a bunch of set backs with his own collection Jacobs announces

that he will be joining the brand Perry Ellis (Belloir et al. 111).

Jacobs joins Perry Ellis as their vice president of women’s designs. During his time

there he designed one of his most recognized collections, the “grunge” collection.

This collection was said to have helped bring people into the grunge look of the

1990’s, with Jacobs being called “the guru of grunge” (Nolen 1).

At the time grunge was “the most talked-about trend to come out of the spring

collections” which Jacobs showcased that year. (Belloir et al. 111).

The “grunge collection” was Jacobs last collection with Perry Ellis because the line

didn’t do well financially (Belloir et al. 111), it was also thought to have happened

because the line was so different to what the brand traditionally looked like (Nolen

1). In 1993 after leaving Perry Ellis, Jacobs started up his own company with Robert

Duffy (“Marc Jacobs” 1) and then opened his first boutique in 1997 (Nolen 1).

In January of 1997 Marc Jacobs joined with the company Louis Vuitton as the

artistic director where he introduced the brands first ready-to-wear collection as

well as fashion accessories. While working at Louis Vuitton he continued to work on

and expand his own label (Belloir et al. 112-113).

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In 2001 Jacobs launched a line called Marc by Marc Jacobs, an affordable line for

men and eventually women, then in 2005 a line for children called Little Marc Jacobs

(Nolen 1).

In addition to his already popular fragrance line, Marc Jacobs expanded his line to

include a full collection of beauty products to be sold at Sephora as of August 2013

(Berry 1).

Now Marc Jacobs line includes men’s, women’s and children’s clothing as well as

shoes, sunglasses, handbags, jewelry, accessories and beauty products

(marcjacobs.com).

In 2010 Jacobs married his boyfriend Lorenzo Martone (“Marc Jacobs” 1) and as of

2013 Jacobs decided to leave work as the artistic director at Louis Vuitton so that he

could focus on his own line (Nolen 1).

Marc Jacobs now has “more than 200 retail stores in 80 countries (“Marc Jacobs” 1).

In Canada you can purchase Marc Jacobs at Nordstroms (Nordstroms.com), The Bay

(thebay.com), Aritzia (aritzia.com) and his Beauty products at Sephora (Sephora.ca).

The price range for his products is about $18.00 for nail polish to $5,800.00 for a

rabbit fur striped coat (marcjacobs.com).

Signature Style:

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Since his infamous Spring 93’ “Grunge Collection” in 1992 with Perry Ellis, which is

said to have launched the grunge trend of the 1990’s Jacobs has stated, “In my heart,

I always create grunge fashion” (Belloir et al. 111).

Figure 1: Perry Ellis Spring 93' Collection. https://n0stal9ia.wordpress.com/tag/marc-jacobs/ Feb 21, 2013. Web. Feb 8, 2015.

Figure 2: Perry Ellis spring 93' fashion show. https://n0stal9ia.wordpress.com/tag/marc-jacobs/ Feb 21, 2013. Web. Feb 08, 2015.

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Jacobs own line continues to have grunge influences but with a street-savvy casual

yet high end look to it (“Marc Jacobs designer profile” 1). He aims to “deconstruct

and demystify the fashion codes in order to apprehend them differently” (Belloir et

al. 111). Jacobs 2013 resort collection brought back his grunge influences from the

90’s and mixed it with monochromatic colours (Marc By Marc Jacobs Resort 2013

1).

Figure 3: Marc by Marc Jacobs Resort collection 2013. http://www.thefrontrowview.com/2012/06/marc-by-marc-jacobs-resort-2013-teenage.html June 06, 2012. Web. Feb 08, 2015.

In his most recent collections we can see that the street-savvy and grunge look is still present.

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Figure 4: Marc By Marc Jacobs spring summer 2015. http://www.marcjacobs.com/lookbooks/marc-by-marc-jacobs/womens-ready-to-wear/spring-summer-2015/ Web. Feb 08, 2015.

Figure 5: Marc By Marc Jacobs spring summer 2015. http://www.marcjacobs.com/lookbooks/marc-by-marc-jacobs/mens-ready-to-wear/spring-summer-2015/ Web. Feb 8, 2015.

Kimberley Newport-Mimran:

Biography:

Kimberley Newport-Mimran was born in Sept of 1968 in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Kimberley first discovered her love of fashion when she was 14 years old and then

in 1989 began to pursue a career in the industry by moving to Toronto and studying

apparel-manufacturing management at George Brown College (Cheung 1).

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Upon graduation Newport-Mimran got a job in the buying office at The Hudson’s

Bay Company (About Kimberley Newport-Mimran 1).

She worked there for about 3 years and then got a job at the offices of Club Monaco

working in product development and merchandising where she helped to expand

the brand. After several years of success and gaining experience she moved on to

work for Caban an expansion of Club Monaco; here she became the senior director.

She then took some time off to get married and start a family with her husband Joe

Mimran who is the former Club Monaco CEO (Cheung 1).

The couple has a daughter named Jacqueline who was born in 2001 as well as a

French bulldog named Max Mimran, who they got in 2013. Kimberley and her family

like to “split their time between Toronto, New York and Palm Beach” (About

Kimberley Newport-Mimran 1).

In 2002 Kimberley and her husband Joe launched her Clothing brand Pink Tartan.

Pink Tartan focuses on women’s sportswear (Cheung 1).

The brand is said to have a “clear identity that epitomizes President and Design

director Kimberley Newport-Mimran’s appreciation of style and modern

sophistication” (About Pink Tartan 1).

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Newport-Mimran likes to focus her designs on everyday wear for the working

woman, to help “accommodate a day-to-night lifestyle” (Cheung 1).

The success of her line led Newport-Mimran to the opportunity to open a showroom

in New York in 2004. When talking about what inspires her pink tartan designs

Kimberley states, “I might see something that'll inspire me, I might read something

that'll inspire me, I might be at a restaurant and a girl's wearing something fantastic

and it inspires me. And then I'll also go back into archival Vogues and research ideas

that kind of speak to me” (Maich 1).

Kimberley also said she gets inspiration from her grandmother as well as muses in

fashion. Along with designing for her brand Pink Tartan Newport-Mimran has

designed uniforms for other companies including: Porter Airlines, 60 Thompson in

New York, Roosevelt Hotel’s Tropicana bar in Hollywood as well as the concierge

team at Holt Renfrew (Cheung 1).

In 2010 Kimberley opened up the very first Pink Tartan Flagship store in Toronto,

housed in Yorkville. Kimberley wanted the design of the store to reflect her home

that she lives in with her family so it is mostly filled with classic and vintage pieces.

Along with her Ready-to-wear line of clothes at Pink Tartan Newport-Mimran also

sells gift items, accessories, and anything else she finds inspirational (Lifestyle

Concept 1).

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In 2013 Pink Tartan collaborated with Tide Pods laundry detergent to come out

with a line of washable clothes. The line was called The Washable collection, which

was made laundry-friendly so that the care of the clothing would be easier and more

convenient for busy women (Atkinson 1).

Kimberley’s brand Pink Tartan can be found in Canada at Holt Renfrew, and The

Bay. It can be found in the United States at: Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale's and

Neiman Marcus. Pink Tartan also has “over 170 specialty stores across North

America and internationally in Dubai, Korea, Japan, Greece and England.” Some

Celebrity clientele of Pink Tartan include: Kim Cattrall, Jenny McCarthy, Vanessa

Williams, Kate Hudson, and Charlize Theron.

The price range for the clothing runs from “$5 for a felt coaster to $1,595 for a

Courrèges baseball jacket” (Zikas 1).

Signature Style:

Pink Tartan’s signature style is said to be sportswear with preppy silhouettes in

bold colours (Budziak 1). Newport-Mimran aims to reinvent classic silhouettes and

introduce staples into your wardrobe using luxe-fabrics, fresh prints and cuts

(About Pink Tartan 1).

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Figure 6: Pink Tartan Contrast Tea dress. http://pinktartan.com/ca/dresses.html Web. Feb 8, 2015.

Figure 7: Pink Tartan Kim trouser. http://pinktartan.com/ca/pants.html Web. Feb 8, 2015.

In Pink Tartan’s Fall/Winter 2013 collection Newport-Mimran channeled the

1950’s, specifically “well dressed woman with unassuming demeanors” like

Constance Langdon from American horror story as well as characters from Alfred

Hitchcock’s films (Budziak 1).

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Figure 8: Fall/Winter 2013 Runway collection. http://www.canadianliving.com/blogs/style/2013/03/21/trend-report-pink-tartan-at-toronto-fashion-week/ Web. Feb 8, 2015.

Figure 9: Fall/Winter 2013 Collection. http://nuvomagazine.com/style/pink-tartan. Web. Feb 8, 2015.

Comparing Styles:

I think that Marc Jacobs’ clothes and Kimberley Newport-Mimran’s clothes have a

very different look to them. Marc Jacobs clothing has more of an edge to it than Pink

Tartan does. Pink Tartan tends to use more simple and classic silhouettes and styles

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in its clothing, while Marc Jacobs tends to be more casual and street inspired. Pink

Tartan’s clothing is styled for the working woman (cheung 1) and so it has a

sophisticated look to it. Some Marc Jacobs’ clothes looks professional but the

majority of his clothing that I observed is grungy and tends to be more for either a

edgy, dressy party look or casual street wear. A similarity in both designers clothing

is that they like to use bold colours as well as daring patterns.

Figure 10: Marc By Marc Jacobs New World System Tee. http://www.marcjacobs.com/women/marc-by-marc-jacobs/ready-to-wear/ Web. Feb 10, 2015.

Figure 11: Pink Tartan Bow Tie Shirt. http://pinktartan.com/ca/tops.html Web. Feb 10, 2015.

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Work Cited

"About Kimberley Newport-Mimran." Pink Tartan. Pinktartan.com. Web. 07 Feb.

2015. http://pinktartan.com/ca/about

“About Pink Tartan.” Pink Tartan. Pinktartan.com. Web. 08 Feb. 2015.

http://pinktartan.com/ca/about

Aritzia.com. “Marc by Marc Jacobs.” Arizia. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb . 2015.

http://aritzia.com/en/search?cgid=bags

Atkinson, Nathal I. "Washable Fashion." The Windsor StarSep 21 2013. ProQuest.

Web. 8 Feb. 2015 .

Belloir, Veronique. Bruna, Denis. Furniss, Jo-Ann. Golbin, Pamela. Healy, Murray.

Pujalet-Plaa, Eric. Saurat, Delphine. Tetart-vittu, Fancoise. Louis Vuitton/Marc

Jacobs. New York: Rizzoli International Publications Inc, 2012. Print

Berry, Allison. "Marc Jacobs Debuts Beauty Line." Style Design Marc Jacobs Debuts

Beauty Line. N.p., 07 Aug. 2013. Web. 03 Feb. 2015.

http://style.time.com/2013/08/07/marc-jacobs-debuts-

beauty-line/

Budziak, Kimberly. "Pink Tartan." NUVO Magazine. N.p., 15 Oct. 2013. Web. 08 Feb.

2015. <http://nuvomagazine.com/style/pink-tartan>.

Cheung, Ryan. "Kimberley Newport-Mimran." The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., 9

Dec. 11. Web. 07 Feb. 2015.

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/kimberley-newport-

mimran/

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Figure 1: Perry Ellis Spring 93' Collection.

https://n0stal9ia.wordpress.com/tag/marc-jacobs/ Feb 21, 2013. Web. Feb

8, 2015.

Figure 2: Perry Ellis spring 93' fashion show.

https://n0stal9ia.wordpress.com/tag/marc-jacobs/ Feb 21, 2013. Web. Feb

08, 2015.

Figure 3: Marc by Marc Jacobs Resort collection 2013.

http://www.thefrontrowview.com/2012/06/marc-by-marc-jacobs-

resort-2013-teenage.html June 06, 2012. Web. Feb 08, 2015

Figure 4: Marc By Marc Jacobs spring summer 2015.

http://www.marcjacobs.com/lookbooks/marc-by-marc-jacobs/womens- ready-

to-wear/spring-summer-2015/ Web. Feb 08, 2015.

Figure 5: Marc By Marc Jacobs spring summer 2015.

http://www.marcjacobs.com/lookbooks/marc-by-marc-jacobs/mens-

ready-to-wear/spring-summer-2015/ Web. Feb 8, 2015

Figure 6: Pink Tartan dress. http://pinktartan.com/ca/dresses.html Web. Feb 8,

2015.

Figure 7: Pink Tartan Kim trouser. http://pinktartan.com/ca/pants.html Web. Feb

8, 2015.

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Figure 8: Fall/Winter 2013 Runway collection.

http://www.canadianliving.com/blogs/style/2013/03/21/trend-

report- pink-tartan-at-toronto-fashion-week/ Web. Feb 8, 2015.

Figure 9: Fall/Winter 2013 Collection. http://nuvomagazine.com/style/pink-tartan.

Web. Feb 8, 2015.

Figure 12: Marc By Marc Jacobs New World System Tee.

http://www.marcjacobs.com/women/marc-by-marc-jacobs/ready-

to- wear/ Web. Feb 10, 2015.

Figure 13: Pink Tartan Bow Tie Shirt. http://pinktartan.com/ca/tops.html Web. Feb

10, 2015.

“Lifestyle Concept.” Pink Tartan. Pinktartan.com. Web. 08 Feb. 2015.

http://pinktartan.com/ca/about

Maich, Steve. "Kimberley Newport-Mimran." Canadian Business Jan 18 2010: 66,65.

ProQuest. Web. 8 Feb. 2015.

"Marc by Marc Jacob Resort 2013." The Front Row View. N.p., 06 June 2012. Web. 08

Feb. 2015. <http://www.thefrontrowview.com/2012/06/marc-by-

marc- jacobs-resort-2013-teenage.html>.

“Marc Jacobs.” Glamourmagazine.co.uk. Glamour Magazine. Web. Feb. 2015

MarcJacobs.com - Official Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2015.

http://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/marc-jacobs

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Nolen, Jeanette L. "Marc Jacobs". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica

Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 01 Feb. 2015

<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/914268/Marc-Jacobs>.

Nordstroms.com "MARC BY MARC JACOBS Clothing, Shoes & Accessories."

Nordstrom. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2015. http://shop.nordstrom.com/c/marc-

by-marc-jacobs

Thebay.com “Marc by Marc Jacobs.” The Hudson’s Bay Company. N.p., n.d. Web. 03

Feb. 2015.

http://www.thebay.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/en/thebay/brand/ma

rcbymarcjacobs

Zikas, Rita. "Pink Tartan Anything but Tart." Thestar.com. N.p., 20 Feb. 2013. Web.

08 Feb. 2015.

http://www.thestar.com/life/fashion_style/2013/02/20/pink_tartan_anythi

ng_but_tart.html

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