MARC JACOBS
spring/summer 2010

Couturiers naked

In late July 2010, the new fragrance by Louis Vuitton Creative Director Marc Jacobs will be available in Marc Jacobs’ official shops and at the New York store Bloomingdales, which is a traditional place for the premiere of new fragrances before they are coming out globally. 'Bang' will be available worldwide in September 2010.

fig.: On the behind-the scene photo you can see US designer Marc Jacobs (born 1963, graduated at the Parsons The New School for Design) on a bed with silver metallic covering in preparation for the shooting. The photographer of the campaign is Juergen Teller; hair & makeup by Sarah Sibia from See Management.

Such as Marc Jacobs looks on the silver bed like thrown onto it, the bottle of the Eau de Toilette is pushed in - the writing 'Bang' brings the visual impression into a word. To name the men's fragrance 'Bang' was the idea of Marc Jacobs. StyleList writes that the name came in a gym to him: "As a word, it has so many connotations, including a sexual connotation," says Marc Jacobs on StyleList.

In several articles online, the campaign is compared to the ad of YSL 'Pour Homme', photographed by Jeanloup Sieff in 1971, showing the French couturier naked. For the press, Marc Jacobs - who has married his boyfriend in 2009, expresses the same provocative and humorous style like Yves Saint Laurent in the early 70ies did.

Vogue cites Pierre Bergé, Saint Laurent's business partner, who said in 1997 about the image of YSL 'Pour Homme': "It was just provocation on the part of Yves Saint Laurent. The picture didn't specifically target the gay population, even though it resonated strongly among them. In any case the photo was hardly published at the time. Just barely in the French press. It was only much later on that it became an almost mythical icon."

fig.: Silver metal flacon 'Bang' for Marc Jacobs' Eau de Toilette. The flacon was designed by Harry Allen in cooperation with Marc Jacobs. The idea is to express that something new (such as the pushed form of the silver bottle with black elements looks accidently) happens with a 'Bang'. The silver plates are reflecting the light onto the edges which are consciously not perfect. The peppery woody-spicy scent was designed by Yann Vasnier in cooperation with the 'nose' Ann Gottlieb, who has learned from her mentor Esteé Lauder and created already prominent fragrances for design labels like Calvin Klein, Dior, Carolina Herrera or personal care brands like Axe and Dove.


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