Marc Jacobs’ Fall 2024 Collection Exuded Joy and Fun — Perfect for Now

On Monday night, the first of July, Marc Jacobs followed up his spring 2024 “Wonder” collection with a fall one filled with joy.

Or “Joy, Period.” as the show notes read.

Jacobs’ collection continued to embrace spring’s paper doll qualities with spectacular, exaggerated shapes and playful femininity, and warped them into fantastical, cartoonish wonders with 2D meets 3D constructions.

Popeye the Sailor’s girlfriend, Olive Oyl, instantly came to mind through the collections fabulous, brightly hued tulip skirts worn with stiff, collared sweaters and padded, pointed black pumps, while the idea of twisted ‘50s Stepford wives came to mind with his ladylike looks.

“While the future remains unwritten, I am steadfast in my daily practice of choosing love over hate, faith over fear and finding pause in reflection. I believe in living with authenticity — free from validation and permission of absurd conservatism and societal norms,” Jacobs’ show notes read.

Here, his characters continued to push past dated expectations to exude amplified femininity with fun takes on tweedy suits, in ivory with candy-colored crystals, or sweet twinsets, paired with fluted skirts and stellar, oversize quilted and suede ladybags. There were also voluminous cocktail dresses, which looked great in pastel pink and blue lace, or slightly closer to the body with oversize paillettes, and naive eyelet and pointelle styles, both blown-out into abstracted A-line numbers or cut into underpinning silhouettes and novel short sleeve sweaters.

He continued to reinforce these silhouettes that have become, very quietly, Jacobs’ well-known signatures with ‘50s polka dots; hourglass trompe l’oeil layers; larger-than-life eye shadow and lashes, and even a possible nod to Marilyn Monroe’s wind-blown dress via Jacobs’ show-opening white frock and strappy white sandals with extended soles before the show closed with a trio of marvelous, brightly hued retro ball gowns.

Throughout fall, Jacobs continued to push beyond conventionalism — from the fashion system’s calendar “rules” to a tight, seven-minute show runtime that managed to message succinctly what others might fail to do in three times the length — and clearly it’s working. More than ever amid the long global fashion whirl, his collections wow and inspire, bringing levity and joy to all.

After all, girls just wanna have fun, and Jacobs clearly is.