Marc On Dior
Marc Jacobs has spoken about how flattered he
felt to have been considered by Bernard Arnault to succeed John Galliano at Christian Dior,
but has again reaffirmed that he will not be the one to step into the British
designer's shoes.
"It's a
great honour to be considered, and Mr Arnault is a super intelligent man and a
very smart man and it was certainly a very great honour for him to know that I
was capable - and not only capable but that I am someone that he would have
wanted for the job," Jacobs told the Telegraph. "But I am very happy to be
here. There is so much more left to do and building Louis Vuitton into a fashion company is
something nobody else can say they really started."
It was
rumoured that contract negotiations broke down when Jacobs' request to bring
his entire Vuitton team with him to Dior was rejected by Arnault. So was
the job his to refuse in the end?
"Well…
it's a little bit more complicated than that…but we agreed that it was probably
best for everyone," he said.
Updated Monday December 19, 9.20am: Marc Jacobs has
ruled himself out of the running for the Dior job once and for all.
"I am
at Vuitton,
and I am very happy there," said Jacobs. "I've been saying that for a
long time. There have been on-and-off conversations about Dior. I don't know; maybe someday in
the future, maybe years from now, I may end up going someplace else, maybe
Dior. But right now I am at Vuitton, and all that matters to me is that that's
where I am and I'm going to keep doing my thing.
"The
irony in all of this is that I don't dream of doing anything else, or I didn't.
My greatest challenge is to do something better than we've done the season
before. The idea of couture doesn't hold that thing for me. It's
archaic - in my opinion. I mean, I am really interested in the craftsmanship
behind couture. But I can explore all that in ready-to-wear. With couture, one
dress each season is photographed by a couple of magazines; there's no
advertising; it reaches 20 customers. I don't feel there is anything lacking in
what we do. I get to work with these amazing craftsmen. Maybe not the same
ateliers that would make a couture dress, but, again, we are not in a deficit
for working with people who create beautiful things. I am not sure I ever
looked at couture as this great opportunity."
And at
Christmas time, when most people are celebrating with families, Jacobs has
expressed his own views on togetherness. The designer has not seen his mother,
brother or sister for 20 years.
"I hate
this idea that you have to love somebody because they are your family," he
told US Vogue. "Nobody can tell me what I'm
supposed to feel and who I am supposed to feel it for. I don't blame them, I
don't hate them, I just know that I don't feel love for them. That's all. And I
am not going to make the call or try to stay in
touch because society says, But it's your mother. Oedipus, Schmoedipus."
