Marc Jacobs Halts Production On His Upcoming Collections

Marc Jacobs has reevaluated his brand strategy. In a Zoom video conference for a series called Global Conversations, which debuted yesterday, per People, the New York–based fashion designer shared his decision to halt production on his fall 2020 lineup and collection for the upcoming Fashion Week in September.

“To be honest, I don’t know what we’ll be doing or when we’ll be starting, but to design a collection I need my team,” he explained. “And my team needs to look at fabrics. And those fabrics come from Italy. And we travel, and there’s a lot of things that go on. Until we discover a new way to work—until we create a new way to work—or a new end goal to work towards, we really have nothing to do.”

The announcement to change his company’s trajectory is the result of the coronavirus outbreak that has swept the globe. Nonessential businesses are shuttered, travel bans have been enacted, and authorities have mandated that the masses quarantine themselves in their homes. This has led to a breaking point for many labels who depend on consumerism to not only thrive but stay afloat.

Indeed, fashion is a fast-paced business that relies on a steady stream of ideas to move it forward. They come in the form of capsule lines, events, brand partnerships, VIP dressing, and many more initiatives aiming to woo shoppers in an increasingly saturated marketplace. And that isn’t even counting the four-to-six collections many labels churn out annually. All this has, according to the McKinsey & Company report, added to the industry’s $2.5 trillion evaluation. But with the world at a standstill, C-suiters like Jacobs are facing the reality that marketing and, more significantly, manufacturing their goods just isn’t feasible.

“We weren’t able to produce our [fall] collection,” he said. “After we showed it in New York, it went to Paris, to the showrooms. Then all of this started with the coronavirus. And Italy, if you remember, shut [down] first. There was a lot of illness in Italy, but all our fabrics, every fabric we purchased with the exception of two, perhaps, came from Italy.”

Like Jacobs, many other fashion designers, undoubtedly, will also need to hit pause on their collections. And though it is a tough decision (especially since Jacobs’s fall 2020 collection was truly outstanding), it seems to be the only current option.

This article originally appeared on Harper’s BAZAAR US.

Related articles:

Miley Cyrus (And Her Abs) Bring New York Fashion Week To A Close On The Marc Jacobs Catwalk

New York Fashion Week: 10 Best Looks From Marc Jacobs Fall/ Winter 2020

OK, Fashion. What Happens Now In The Coronavirus Pandemic?