Marc Jacobs Revives Stephen Sprouse Graffiti Bag for His Own Brand With a Twist on ‘The Serenity Prayer’
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Marc Jacobs has revived one of his most recognizable Louis Vuitton designs in celebration of his eponymous label’s 40th anniversary. On Wednesday, the designer revealed a new handbag featuring Stephen Sprouse’s iconic graffiti print.
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“I wanted to use Stephen’s graffiti because it meant something to me,” Jacobs, who refers to Sprouse as one of his fashion “heroes,” wrote on Instagram. “Stephen as an artist, Stephen as a New York figure. It had the credibility of street, but also the style of somebody who was a fashion designer.”
Stephen Sprouse’s Impact
Sprouse, who died in 2004, was known for his use of DayGlo hues, frequently dousing them in abstract patterns and handwritten text. The fashion designer came up in the 1980s, taking inspiration from the punk and street art scenes in New York.
Jacobs first discovered Sprouse’s work in 1984, when he was still a student at the Parsons School of Design. The duo first collaborated in 2000, when Jacobs invited him to cover Louis Vuitton’s trademark trunks in graffiti print.
Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton
In 1997, Jacobs became the artistic director of Louis Vuitton.
Jacobs, who had recently left his post at Perry Ellis, sought to bring his rebellious sensibilities to the legacy house.
Marc Jacobs and Stephen Sprouse’s Louis Vuitton Collaboration
Sprouse used his own handwritten text as an overlay for the Vuitton monogram, splashing it across trunks and handbags. He also lent spray-painted rose motifs to Jacobs, who plastered them onto a white skirt.
Speaking to a group of Central Saint Martins students in 2008, Jacobs explained why his vision for the Sprouse collection was a tough sell. Once it began flying off the shelves, however, executives changed their tune.
“I don’t understand corporate people — I always say the design team’s on the second floor and the corporate people are on the fifth floor, and it might as well be the distance between here and Mars,” Jacobs said. “The press reaction to all that graffiti was so amazing [but] they bitched and moaned, [saying] ‘we’re not going to do it’. I just couldn’t believe it…at the time, that’s how narrow-minded they were…[but] $300 million later, they think it’s a good idea!”
Jacobs brought back the Sprouse prints for a limited-edition capsule in 2009. This time, he used the designer’s neon color scheme on a series of handbags, dresses and shoes.
“I tried to take what Stephen had done at Vuitton and then kind of flip it in my head, and make it Vuitton’s work for Stephen, not Stephen’s work for Vuitton,” Jacobs told WWD at the time. “I just felt it was a funny way to play with it, to pretend to be Sprouse for a bit, and use the work that he did, and then bring it back to the work that he did before I collaborated with him.”
Items from both Sprouse collaborations became coveted Vuitton pieces. Stars including Kelis, Kim Kardashian and Patricia Arquette were spotted sporting the bags. On today’s resale market, they frequently cost thousands more than their initial retail prices.
The Stephen Sprouse x Marc Jacobs 40th Anniversary Tote
Jacobs launched his brand’s tote bag in 2019. The cult favorite carryall is typically printed, and comes in a variety of colors, materials and sizes.
The new Stephen Sprouse tote, available to shop now on marcjacobs.com, features neon green script on brown leather. Retailing for $550, its text is based on Reinhold Niebuhr’s “Serenity Prayer” and is inspired by a piece Sprouse made for Jacobs while they were working on their original collaboration.
“I was very stressed out and one day I came to work and Stephen had taken a scrap of the Louis Vuitton monogram canvas and he wrote his version of ‘The Serenity Prayer’ on it as a gift to me. And the way that went was, ‘Grant me the serenity to chill.'”
Marc Jacobs x Stephen Sprouse The Medium Tote Bag
$550
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