In partnership with the Rubric Initiative, the former Louis Vuitton designer is the mentor of an initiative launched last spring in New York. Objective: to help young people of color enter the fashion world.
Luxury goods are definitely raising their inclusive profile on the other side of the Atlantic.
Recently, Dior (Lvmh group) announced that, in partnership with rapper IDK, it had designed the uniforms for the participants in the No Label Academy for the start of the 2023 academic year, a mini-program at Harvard University to help young people from underprivileged ethnic backgrounds get their start in the music business.
But before Dior, Marc Jacobs, another creator in the Lvmh galaxy and owner of his own Maison, also contributed to the project.
Last March, the man who gave Louis Vuitton a new aura began sharing his vision with young designers from minority ethnic groups.
Opening up the world of fashion
He has joined forces with the Rubric Initiative, an organization launched in 2020 with the aim of opening up the world of fashion.
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“Fashion is a historically homogeneous industry,” explained Rubric Initiative’s organizers at its launch. “But we believe that the different perspectives introduced by different experiences only enhance the creative conversation. In 2020, people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds remain disproportionately underrepresented in our arena.”
Rubric Initiative’s patrons include such illustrious figures as Olivia Singer, fashion editor of British Vogue, and two of Lvmh’s leading designers, the late Virgil Abloh, then head of Louis Vuitton‘s men’s collections and the first man of color to hold such a position, and British designer Kim Jones, who replaced Karl Lagerfeld as artistic director of Fendi.
Three pillars
Rubric Initiative’s actions are based on three pillars: digital (offering video panels, practical advice, podcasts and Zoom seminars), mentoring (six-month individual sessions) and financial support (via paid internships and apprenticeships).
The Marc Jacobs X Rubric partnership, based in New York, was part of the mentoring program. A handful of emerging designers from the Rubric community, aged 18 to 28 and generally from the Big Apple, were paired with an industry professional validated by Marc Jacobs, himself acting as mentor. The young participants were given access to the brand’s inventory for a photoshoot, as well as the opportunity to create a co-branded T-shirt with expert advice.
Finally, mentees enjoyed direct access to the designer, asking him questions about his career, which he answered on his social media pages @marcjacobs and @rubricinitiative.
Marc Jacobs’ mentors
And in the course of his brilliant career, Marc Jacobs himself has come across several “mentors” who have played a crucial role. Starting with his paternal grandmother, who raised him and introduced him to the joys of sewing and knitting. The designer Perry Ellis, with whom he worked, had the good sense to advise him to attend the prestigious Parsons School of Design. His end-of-year work was then noticed by businessman Robert Duffy, who has been his partner ever since. Finally, on the advice of Anna Wintour, Lvmh called on him to design Louis Vuitton‘s collections from 1997 to 2013. With the success story we all know!
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Read also > DIOR DRESSES THE NO LABEL ACADEMY STUDENTS
Front cover photo: © Marc Jacobs x Rubric Initiative
