New muses, old films, and Marc Jacobs as only Sofia Coppola can capture him.
Is it possible to understand a person through their wardrobe? And is it possible to fall in love with them simply because of the way they dress? The documentary *Marc by Sofia* asks exactly these questions. Created in collaboration between Sofia Coppola and Marc Jacobs, it follows the creation of his Fall/Winter 2024 collection—a show that felt like a melancholic procession of broken dolls and, at the same time, one of the season’s most powerful fashion moments.
Sofia Coppola does not present a classic portrait of the designer here. Rather, she assembles an atmospheric collection of images, memories, and details through which Jacobs’ creative world unfolds. They talk about film, beauty, fashion memories, but also about his grandmother, mascara, or how a well-maintained legend can play a major role in a career. And it is precisely in these small glimpses that the documentary is most interesting. Here are ten moments from it that are worth noting.
1. It’s not just a fashion documentary, but also a love letter to film
Marc by Sofia is steeped in cinematic references. Classic musicals and stylized female worlds appear here, from Funny Girl to All That Jazz, from Hello, Dolly! to The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant. Incidentally, Hello, Dolly! was the first movie Marc Jacobs ever saw in a theater. Elizabeth Taylor hovers over the documentary almost like a spiritual patron, and at one point Jacobs utters a line that could serve as the key to the entire film. All roads lead to Liz! For the Fall/Winter 2024 collection, this cinematic imagination translates into giant, dark, voluminous hairstyles created by layering wigs upon wigs.
2. The grunge collection wasn’t the reason behind his departure from Perry Ellis
Fashion history likes to repeat that Marc Jacobs was fired after his now-legendary grunge collection for Perry Ellis in 1993. But the documentary gently corrects this good-sounding story. Jacobs admits that it isn’t entirely true. It’s just the version of the story he liked. In reality, he was already thinking about his next steps back then. At the same time, however, he understood well how much marketing value a little controlled chaos could have. And that’s exactly what Marc Jacobs has been very good at for decades.
3. After the grunge collection, he was afraid of the people he admired
Courtney Love reportedly burned the pieces from the grunge collection that Marc sent her. And even though it later became almost a fashion legend, Jacobs admits that her reaction at the time left a mark on him. When Kim Gordon from Sonic Youth later reached out to him about a possible collaboration on a music video, he froze completely. In the documentary, he says he’s afraid of the people he admires and didn’t want to be the target of their mockery. As we know, he didn’t become one. The Sugar Kane video is now a classic, and Kim Gordon and Marc Jacobs have become friends.
4. The documentary introduces Jacobs’ new muse
One of the most interesting faces in the film is Delilah Koch, Marc Jacobs’ fitting model and one of the faces of his Perfect fragrance. She is often the first to try on new designs, testing silhouettes, stockings, and nail polish colors. She comes across as very composed in the documentary. She thus fits into the long line of Jacobs’ muses, which has included the likes of Dakota Fanning and Rachel Feinstein. Beyond fashion, Delilah is also a vocal advocate for mental health and suicide prevention.
5. His first beauty role model was his own mother
One of the most beautiful memories in the documentary belongs to Jacobs’s mother. Marc describes how, as a child, he watched her get ready for dates. At one point, she scraped black velvet with a knife and added it to her mascara to make her lashes look thicker and more dramatic. Jacobs was fascinated by this. Even then, he says, the idea began to form that beauty is a way to create the person you want to be in that moment. This fascination never waned. His ethereal lashes remain one of the defining elements of his runway beauty, and his now-discontinued beauty line was just as iconic.
6. His grandmother Helen knitted his first samples
In the documentary, Marc Jacobs pays tribute time and again to his grandmother Helen, who taught him not only to love beautiful things but also to understand the unwritten rules of style. He recounts how he used to shop for gorgeous clothes with her and how she could plan an entire day around where she would be shopping. One day Saks, the next Bergdorf. When Jacobs launched his sweater line in the early 1980s, it was his grandmother’s hands that created the first samples.
7. Counterfeits can sometimes accelerate success
While working for Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs realized that if he wanted to change something and make it cool, he first had to disrupt it a little. This led to a collaboration with Stephen Sprouse, who in 2001 spray-painted the sacred Louis Vuitton monogram with a graffiti aesthetic. Some executives were horrified and refused to produce the bags at all. But then came an unexpected twist. Interest in the design was so high that counterfeiters began producing their own imaginary versions of Vuitton x Sprouse. That’s what convinced the brand that the demand was real. Today, this collaboration is remembered as a brilliant move, but back then, it took a while for others to understand it.
8. Even Marc Jacobs Gets Nervous Before a Show
Another appealing aspect of the film is that it doesn’t portray Jacobs as an untouchable genius. Just before the Fall/Winter 2024 collection show, he admits that he tends to get very nervous. He says it’s a physical sensation. He works so he can show his work, and at the same time, he’s very afraid of it. What drives him forward are those few minutes of joy when he sees the result on the runway. And then he wants to experience it all over again.
9. It’s backstage where you can really see what kind of creator he is
Some of the documentary’s most powerful scenes take place backstage. Here, Marc Jacobs works with people at the absolute top of their game: makeup artist Diane Kendal, hairstylist Duffy, PR strategist Michael Ariano, and stylist Alastair McKimm. And it’s right here that his calmness is evident. At one point, he stops McKimm’s attempt at a final touch-up just before the models take the runway and simply gestures for him to leave it be. Then the show begins.
10. Sofia Coppola and Marc Jacobs remind us that creativity needs distance
The entire documentary serves as a reminder that creativity often arises from the ability to let things flow for a moment. Marc by Sofia offers neither an exhaustive biography nor major revelations. Instead, it is an elegant, highly sophisticated look at a designer who has long since ceased to be merely a designer and has become a cultural figure. And perhaps that is precisely why it works so well. It doesn’t try to explain absolutely everything. It simply allows you to spend a moment inside his world.
