By Alexander Allen

Marc Jacobs posted a teaser for their upcoming fall 2023 ad campaign on Instagram, along with the 08.09.23 date. The next day, in another post, they revealed the star of their campaign was none other than Kim Kardashian. WHOA!

Last season, spring/summer 2023, Kim was the face of Dolce & Gabbana. For me, this is all very exciting to see unfold in real time because I remember the time when Kim wasn’t accepted, nor welcomed into the fashion community, in spite of her uber popularity.

Most seem to forget that it was Kim’s ex-husband and hip hop’s premier juggernaut, Kanye West that secured her access into the community that she has longed to be a part of. The floodgates opened after their April 2014 Vogue cover, shot by Annie Leibovitz, followed by their September 2016 Harper’s Bazaar cover, which was shot by Karl Lagerfeld. Kanye’s September 2018 Bazaar cover, shot by Mario Sorrenti, featured his two kids, North and Saint West, sans their mother.

I also remember Marc Jacobs as one of the pioneers on Bleecker Street. At one point in time, he had four locations on the street and six in the West Village. His stores used to be a staple of mine for cool fashion finds for myself and unique designer gifts for others. His location on the corner of West 11th and Bleecker Street, which had been there since 2001, is now occupied by SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker.

The last remaining Marc Jacobs store on the charming Bleecker Street is BookMarc, which is a quaint shop with an eclectic collection of mostly coffee-table books, along with the above-mentioned Marc Jacobs trinkets. From the concept to the name of this store, I love everything about this parlor.

I’m very much looking forward to seeing these electric MJ x KK x FW x 23 ads displayed all around the city.