Viva Marc Jacobs! A Specific Impulse Editorial

If you were able to remove your fashionista glasses long enough to see it...the show was pure genious. Exactly the wake-up call we so desperately need in American fashion. Oh, don't get me wrong...mixed in with a few exquisite pieces the clothes were a mess, and 80% will probably never make it to the rack. But this wasn't about the clothing. This was about the ruling fashion elite being told that current fashion trends have finally run their course, and the emporer wasn't wearing anything at all. Predictably, they took offense.

In the early 90's, Jacobs put flannel grunge and combat boots on the runway for Perry Ellis and was immediately fired. In hindsight it's easy to call him an "agent of change" and a genius. Now, some 15 years later, it is Jacobs who has once again set the bar. Reviewers, having had to wait for over two hours for the show to start, only to be shown the collection that appeared, got angry. And, Jacob's got angry back in an interview with WWD. Now, we may lose the pleasure of seeing future shows by this American designer who is one of the finest of his generation because he has been made to feel unwelcome in his own country. Great. Well, at least we'll have "America's Next Top Model" and "Project Runway" to satisfy our highly underdeveloped palates.