By: Emilia Moberg

Marc Jacobs is a luxury fashion brand founded in 1984 by designer Marc Jacobs. It was highly successful in the 90s and early 2000s and is credited with creating the grunge aesthetic. Despite its accomplishments in fashion, the brand slowly started to lose revenue in the 2010s.

 Throughout history, fashion brands, large and small, have found the need to reinvent themselves to stay on-trend. One way brands combat irrelevancy is often by catering to a new, younger audience to help revitalize the image of the brand as a whole. In a quote from Marc Gobé, founder of an international design and branding company, Gobé states, “The mature brands lose the younger generation. The younger generation gravitates towards brands that are culturally relevant to them”. Marc Jacobs did just that with the launch of its new project, ‘Heaven’ by Marc Jacobs. 

Heaven by Marc Jacobs is an off-shoot brand of mainline Marc Jacobs. The idea for the brand was originated by Jacobs and Ava Nirui, the special projects directors for Marc Jacobs. Started in the fall of 2020, the brand’s designs focus on a combination of the 90’s grunge look and modern youth culture to engage its Gen Z and Millennial audience.

Heaven features items such as printed baby doll dresses, platform heels and boots, baby tees in muted colors, silver statement jewelry and hand and shoulder bags. Movie posters, zines, and CD’s are also sold at the brand’s online store and Los Angeles location. Heaven has featured design collaborations with Doc Martens, Thai brand Nong Rak, and musical artist Bladee, as well as celebrity campaigns with Nicki Minaj, Beabadobee, Steve Lacy, and Bella Hadid. 

According to fashion financial executive, Jean Jacques Guiony, Marc Jacobs as a brand began to increase in profits after the release of Heaven for the first time in 5 years. The brand represents the success that can be had when a young creative and an established, yet open-minded designer collaborate.