MANILA, Philippines - Marc Jacobs is known for starting his shows exactly on time, not almost 30 minutes late as most designers do. And so at the very stroke of 6 p.m. on Thursday, fashionistas in the cavernous Park Avenue Armory were thrown back into their seats with a huge, pounding "BOOM!" It was just really, really loud music, but it certainly got everyone's attention.
Then, Jacobs kept that attention with a moody, stylish show that at some points seemed to channel some darkly romantic Victorian novel, perhaps by Dickens, and at others seemed utterly modern.
The show was heavy on long, pleated skirts, often topped by gorgeously tailored and embroidered coats, or capes. Some of the outfits were heavy enough to wear outside in the rapidly descending New York temperatures, and others were light enough to — well, one gown was totally sheer.
There were luxurious coats in black-and-white mink, and there was plenty of sparkle, too: in silvery metallic pleated skirts and jackets, for example, or on gowns covered with the brightest of sequins. Model-of-the-moment Kendall Jenner, half-sister of Kim Kardashian, sported a sleek black coat over a floral pleated skirt.
Her hair, like that of all the models, was pulled up into a topknot on the very front of her head. These distinctive hairdos — meant to elongate the neck, as in a swan — were accompanied by heavy silver-gray eye shadow and eggplant-colored lips, for a dramatic and elegant look apparently inspired partly by Diana Vreeland, the famous fashion columnist and editor who died in 1989.
Among Jacobs' guests at the show: singer Nicki Minaj, director Sofia Coppola, and actress Christina Ricci, a longtime Jacobs fan. "It's the most exciting show, the most fun show," Ricci said. "Such a creative mind, always doing something unexpected."
Something unexpected like, perhaps, those waiters offering guests glasses of vodka with a lemon twist when they arrived in from the cold? That was pretty creative, too.
See photos of the collection below, courtesy of John Minchillo/AP