Marc Jacobs Talks Fashion at the French Institute

“I could never call myself an artist; I think that’s pretentious. But you could call me an artist,” quipped Marc Jacobs last night at the final installment of the French Institute’s Fashion Talks series. Jacobs joined Patricia Mears, deputy director of the Museum at FIT, for a discussion on his career trajectory, his Parisian dream home, and the aesthetic of his eponymous line versus that of Louis Vuitton (ELLE Editor-in-Chief Robbie Myers offered opening remarks). Here are some highlights from what the iconic designer had to say.

On two of his sartorial heroes: “I do think Ralph Lauren is the greatest American designer—he creates a world, and everything within that world is that very particular and singular vision. But I think my greatest hero in fashion will probably always be Yves Saint Laurent, and that’s for a completely different reason: The darkness and the decadence and glamour are more appealing to me on a fashion level. But the world Ralph created is just flawless.”

On his creative process: “I love things that are banal. I love clichés. I like things that are awkward. I like imperfection. But what that means within a given season, I don’t know. We say, 'Is it good in a bad way or bad in a good way?' There are all these weird conversations that no one who isn’t in fashion would understand.”

On his personal style: “Two years ago, I asked Casey, who works with me, to go to Barneys and buy me a funny pair of pants—something that would put me in a good mood. And he came back with this Comme des Garçons kilt. And I loved it so much that I’ve been wearing kilts for two years now.”

On whether inanimate objects can have sex appeal: “I don’t find clothes sexy at all. I find people sexy and I find personalities fascinating and sexy and appealing and charming. So a sexy girl wrapped in a sheet is still a sexy girl. And a non-sexy girl in a low-cut dress is still a non-sexy girl.”