Marc Jacobs was born to a non-observant Jewish family in New York City.

[4][5] When he was

seven, his father, an agent at the William Morris Agency, died. His mother, who remarried three
times, was mentally ill and didnt really take care of her kids, according to Jacobs.[6] As a
teenager, he went to live with his paternal grandmother on the Upper West Side, in an apartment
in the Majestic on Central Park West.[7]
He attended the High School of Art and Design and studied at the Parsons School of Design in
New York.[4] While at Parsons in 1984, Jacobs won the Perry Ellis Gold Thimble Award, Chester
Weinberg Gold Thimble Award, and Design Student of the Year Award.[8] He also won an award
in 1991 from the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
At age 15, Jacobs worked as a stockboy at Charivari, a now-defunct avant-garde clothing
boutique in New York City.[9] While still at Parsons, Jacobs designed and sold his first line of
hand-knit sweaters. He also designed his first collection for Reuben Thomas, Inc., under the
Sketchbook label. With Robert Duffy, Jacobs's creative collaborator, and business partner since
the mid-1980s, he formed Jacobs Duffy Designs Inc.[10]
In 1986, backed by Onward Kashiyama USA, Inc., Jacobs designed his first collection bearing
the Marc Jacobs label. In 1987, Jacobs was the youngest designer to have ever been awarded the
fashion industry's highest tribute, the Council of Fashion Designers of America's Perry Ellis
Award for "New Fashion Talent".[11] In 1988, Jacobs and Duffy joined the women's design unit of
Perry Ellis as vice president and president, respectively, following the death of its namesake and
founder. In addition, Jacobs oversaw the design of the various women's licensees. In 1992, the
Council of Fashion Designers of America awarded Jacobs with The Women's Designer of the
Year Award. In the same year, he designed a "grunge" collection for Perry Ellis, leading to his
dismissal.[12]
In the fall of 1993, Jacobs Duffy Designs Inc. launched their own licensing and design company:
Marc Jacobs International Company, L.P.[11] In 1994, Jacobs produced his first full collection of
menswear.[citation needed] In 1997, Jacobs was appointed Louis Vuitton's creative director, where he
created the company's first ready-to-wear clothing line.[12] Jacobs has collaborated with many
popular artists for his Louis Vuitton collections, including Stephen Sprouse, Takashi Murakami
and most recently American artist Richard Prince and rapper Kanye West,[13]

Marc by Marc Jacobs in Porto.

In the spring of 2001, Jacobs introduced his secondary line, Marc by Marc Jacobs.[9] In 2005,
Look was the Marc by Marc Jacobs ready-to-wear license holder in Japan with retail value of
50 million.[14] In 2006, Jacobs started a new line of body-splash fragrances in affordable huge
ten-ounce bottles which are distributed by Coty. First only being sold in perfume boutiques, they
have become more and more popular during the recent years. In 2007 filmmaker Loc Prigent
released a documentary film about Jacobs entitled Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton.[15][16] In
February 2008, Jacobs was accused of plagiarizing a scarf design created in the 1950s by
Swedish designer Gsta Olofsson.[17] Jacobs settled the matter by offering monetary
compensation to Olofssons son.[18] In 2009, Jacobs launched a shirt, sold at his stores,[19]
demanding the legalization of gay marriage. In May 2009, Jacobs co-hosted, with fashion model
Kate Moss, a "model and muse"-themed gala for the New York City Metropolitan Museum of
Art's Costume Institute.[20]
In February 2010, Jacobs sued Ed Hardy for infringing on the designs of one of his embroidered
handbags.[21] In the course of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin in July 2011 Jacobs was
the patron of the young talent award Designer for Tomorrow by Peek & Cloppenburg. The five
finalists were selected by Jacob and the juryboard and received a personal coaching by Jacobs.
The juryboard and Jacobs appointed the winner of 2011 during the DfT award show.[citation needed] In
August 2011, it was reported that Jacobs may succeed John Galliano as creative director of
Christian Dior.[22] According to The Daily Telegraph, Jacobs firmly laid to rest rumours that he
was to move to Christian Dior in January 2012,[23] but rumours prevail.[24]