THE STORY – An intimate, unconventional portrait of Marc Jacobs to capture the genius and singular universe of the iconic American designer.
THE CAST – N/A
THE TEAM – Sofia Coppola (Director)
THE RUNNING TIME – 97 Minutes
The fashion world doesn’t have a reputation amongst the hoi polloi for being the most welcoming of communities. Common accusations of snobbishness, bodily discrimination, and classism abound. As such, “Marc by Sofia,” the new documentary from Sofia Coppola, all about the famous contemporary designer Marc Jacobs, may just sound like an inaccessible profile by one millionaire of another. But amazingly, Coppola’s intimate portrait manages to have mass appeal, thanks to both her entertaining approach and Jacobs’ down-to-earth, relatable personality. It turns out the pair work well together, leading to a film that both label chasers and thrift store fanatics will love.
Coppola doesn’t hide behind her camera. She makes her voice – both artistic and literal – very present. As shown in her film, she and Jacobs go way back, having first started working in the same circles in the 1990s. The two feel totally comfortable with each other, and Coppola often appears on-camera with Jacobs, assessing his work and asking questions. The bond the two share only helps to accentuate Jacobs’ amiable personality, as he’s clearly comfortable opening up and being transparent with the famous filmmaker.
In a mostly non-linear fashion, Coppola and Jacobs journey through the designer’s life and career. His love of fashion and his level of taste were clearly apparent from a young age, as he endearingly recounts venturing through New York City with his grandmother as a child. And in a particularly charming sequence, Jacobs’ days at Parsons School of Design are recounted, including his creations of an incredibly visionary and well-made trio of oversized sweaters, which propelled him into the professional fashion world.
The film details highlights of his 40-plus years of work, delving into his greatest successes and, most effectively, analyzing his influences. Jacobs tells Coppola what inspires him, which includes actresses, photography, and, in what will surely delight cinephiles, classic films. Bob Fosse’s cinematic works, in particular, are a significant point of reference for Jacobs. In order to emphasize his explanations and descriptions, Coppola makes extensive use of archival footage. Everything that Jacobs references is supported by a clip or image of what he’s talking about, meaning that viewers are treated to, among other things, snippets of “Cabaret,” Barbra Streisand performances, and, of course, footage from Jacobs’ past. Some of the most fascinating moments also feature a young Coppola, illustrating how their lives as burgeoning artists intersected as they were both in the early stages of their careers. Jacobs also offers unvarnished assessments of his own work, which of course includes critiques but, most excitingly, his own self-identified moments of triumph. Artists don’t always have a tendency for self-praise, but by his own estimation, Jacobs’ career highlight was his Autumn/Winter 2020 show, just before the pandemic stopped the world. It featured choreographed dancers intertwined with the models, as shown by the thrilling footage that Coppola includes. Jacobs concludes that he would’ve been happy if his career had ended there, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a joyful moment that helps legitimize his genius for viewers who may not be familiar with his work.
The access granted to the documentary is invaluable. Coppola takes us right into Jacobs’ studio, making us feel as familiar with him as she clearly is. She highlights moments that show his clear attention to detail (the film opens with his assessment of the specific textures and weights of potential fabrics). When it’s not hopping around Jacobs’ past, the film returns to its framing device of the weeks and days leading up to his Spring 2024 show, with the film smartly ending with the actual fashion show. If the film is missing anything from its examination, it would be an assessment from Jacobs about this very show, as it’s one of the few things that he discusses without many adjectives. But still, it may just be a case of him being too close to his work in the present to fully pick it apart just yet.
Jacobs clearly has a penchant for the theatrical and dramatic, both in his designs and the shows in which he presents them. Acting as a smart complement to this inclination, Coppola’s film is similarly dynamic and striking, eschewing a hands-off documentarian approach and instead making her presence and hand known. In that way, she marks the film with her signature in the same way that Jacobs would his own creations with a label, showing that her empathy as a filmmaker can lead to her smartly adapting her style to fit her non-fiction subject. And Jacobs – who rejects the stereotype of high fashion folk being stuffy, pretentious, or aloof – is an extremely worthy central figure for this documentary.
