Women’s Wear Daily held it’s 16th Apparel & Retail CEO Summit in New York City this week. Here are some highlights from two of the biggest, most influential names in fashion.
Marc Jacobs
Why he’s been doing this for 27 years
“I do love fashion. I certainly wouldn’t suffer all the stress that comes with it if I didn’t really love it. I always talk about the team of people I work with every day. They share that passion. We all have our moments where we’re ready to throw in the towel and then we realize there’s nothing we love more. We like to look at colors and fabrics. We like to be inspired by things we’ve seen, and we like to translate that into clothing and bags and we like to see those things worn by people.”
On losing weight
“I felt a lot better and I tend to do more of what makes me feel good. I started to hear from people that I looked great. I enjoyed going shopping for clothes, which made it more personal. I didn’t care about how I looked when I sort of was having all these problems with my stomach and not eating well. I was spending 16 hours in the studio, eating McDonald’s and KFC and junk food, so I felt pretty horrible. I think when I started to get in shape and spend time at the gym I could be better to other people and be better to myself and get back to loving fashion and experience it myself. I started to wear kilts and lace dresses.”
What surprises him most about himself
“I guess that I’m still excited. Even when I feel really stressed and I do go up and down. I know we’re working on a project now and I get very excited every time we have a meeting. We’re working with Sephora on a beauty line and it’s not that I don’t get excited about fashion shows, but I think, ‘Is there really going to be something else that we’re going to do that I’m going to want to do and that I’m going to enjoy?’ And then something does come along and you’re like, ‘Wow. This is really great.'”
When we can expect the makeup line
I think it’s launching this year. We are in 2013. This fall.
Why he’s not in the tabloids anymore
“Well, not since Kim and Kanye took my thunder.”
Karl Lagerfeld
On the bar being raised with Raf Simons at Dior and Hedi Slimane at Saint Laurent
“Is there something healthier than competition? If not, you fall asleep and think success, and what you did, is granted. Nothing is granted in fashion, and this is what I love about fashion.”
Where he’ll show next
“In a year, I will go to Dallas. You know why? First of all, I love Texas. I love Texans. There’s another reason. When Chanel reopened, the French press was beyond nasty. The only press that understood it immediately was the American press, and Neiman Marcus gave her the Oscar for her collection, so I think it’s a nice thing to go there.”
What inspires him
“Everything. I am what people call a voyeur. I look at everything. I remember everything. I can redo things my way because a bad idea of somebody else can give you a good idea…I read every magazine. I want to be informed. I think that’s exciting about fashion. You look at paintings from whatever century, but you can only date them by the clothes. That means fashion is important.”
