Marc Jacobs Research Paper

Marc Jacobs, known for the stunning and elaborate fashion shows in which his collections have been presented, is a designer and artist that explicitly understands how these roles dictate him a cultural influencer. Jacobs also exemplifies a thoughtful and perceptive outlook on modes of creativity in the contemporary setting of creative industries today. Along with this, the creative process of Jacobs is easily exemplified in a variety of theories regarding the process of creativity— more specifically, in Frances Whitehead’s study of What do Artists Know?. In the text, Whitehead recognizes that artists have knowledge surrounding a wide range of practice, technique, and theory, while also possessing a “unique set of skills, process, and methodologies”.

Jacobs shares that this is reflected in his own process as he has “an idea in the beginning, but the road to that idea [is not] always so clear”; the end result comes from “doing and making and trying and retrying and changing” (Elbhar). This ongoing and fluctuating creative process further enhances Jacobs’ point when he says, “for creative people [it is] horrible to be put in a box [...] To be truly young and open minded and curious means you [... do not] have these [...] limitations” (Shukur). While Jacobs notes that certain creative ideas “may be difficult to do within [a given time period] and technically [challenging]”, they are possible, but it is often “an obstacle course to get from A to B” (Elbhar). It is by constantly challenging notions of creativity that artists break beyond the standardized “box”, regardless of the industry he or she creates

Whitehead presents that a unique skill to artists is their “acute cognizance” of the responsibility placed on a creator for their work. A fault to the recognition of such high individual liability results in difficulty to compromise or work effectively in a team. While having an advanced understanding of the individual responsibility related to artistic work is an important trait of artists, this does not necessarily connect to the inability to collaborate or work in a team environment. Jacobs has the insight that “creativity requires collaboration and, in fact, emerges from collaboration” (Tokatli 1256). In explaining his creative process, the importance of a team atmosphere is always emphasized— the creative process begins with every member contributing a piece of inspiration, forming the larger picture (Elbhar). It is also outside this central team that collaboration occurs for Jacobs, one of the prime examples being the many partnerships with contemporary artists. During his time as creative director for Louis Vuitton, Jacobs worked with various artists such as Stephen Sprouse, Takashi Murakami, Richard Prince, and Yayoi Kusama, to create truly unique collections (Tokatli 1264). These choices were strategically made, as Jacobs recognized and stated himself, that “the cross