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Marc Jacobs’ show is a blast from the ’80s past – Metro US

Marc Jacobs’ show is a blast from the ’80s past

What would a Marc Jacobs show be without controversy?

His fall 2009 runway show on Monday night had to be some sort of record in fashion — the show actually started two minutes before the appointed hour. Jacobs is as famous for his late-starting shows as he is for turning grunge into a Park Avenue fashion trend.

Many seats were still not taken when the door closed, the lights went down, and out came the first model.

One can only imagine the panic-stricken guests left outside.

This was an even more-difficult-than-usual invitation to get this season because the guest list was slashed from the usual 2,000 or so, down to just 700.

The slashed guest list wasn’t the only cost-cutting measure. Gone too were the elaborate sets he normally commissions.

The runway was a simple, wide red carpet lined on each side with a single row of black folding chairs. Everyone was in the front row.

But that’s where simplicity ended.

When the first model emerged, she signalled that this was an extraordinary show of extremes and exaggeration.

The hair was shellacked into hair-defying shapes — enormous poufs, fat over-the-moon crimps and towering mohawks.

The boys of Platinum Blonde would have loved it and it will likely make hair gel manufacturers smile with glee.

The eye makeup was bold strokes of colour that extended into the hairline. Model Sessilee Lopez was a dead ringer for Grace Jones.

The ghost of Sammy Jo from Dynasty was there as well, in rusched party dresses. Jacobs also piled on metallic leather with tapestry prints.

To say the shoulders achieved linebacker proportions doesn’t begin to describe how big they were.

Colours were electric, acid.

Get the picture? This was a full-on ’80s flashback.

Fashion is currently having a moment with that era, so it was surprising that the forward-thinking Jacobs would retread this ground – so heavily trampled as it is. He is always so far ahead of the curve, it was odd to see him behind, not ahead, of this ’80s Express.