10 Things You Didn't (But Need To!) Know About Marc Jacobs

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Perhaps no one else in the fashion business today is as much of a household name as Marc Jacobs. After 16 years at the helm of Louis Vuitton (as well as his own label), the tatted-up designer has since devoted 100% of his considerable creative prowess to the expansion of his own megabrand.

When Marc’s not obsessing over military-inspired fabrics or meeting his punishing seasonal deadlines, he’s living the dream as an oiled-up, abdominally-blessed, and eminently quotable fashion superstar. He gobbled up some tagliatelle and meat sauce with Mickey Boardman from Paper magazine all the while doling out the following gems of Marc-ish wisdom.

1. He loves porn stars (like ex Harry Louis.) “Sexy people are great. People who love sex are great. I guess I’ve met a few. I’ve dated one. Or two… I don’t know. Porn is really exciting and sexy. It’s funny — I’ve never actively sought a porn star, but I must attract them in some way!”

2. He’s got an addictive personality. “Anything that makes me feel good I do more of! That’s the nature of addiction, and I’m totally an addict in that respect. If I enjoy something, I want more of it. More sex, more food, more art, more sleep, more… whatever it is!”

3. His last meal would be carb-friendly. “[I’d have] some dish with pasta, a diet coke and a cigarette.”

4. He’s now determined to present his runway shows on time. “If [fashion critics] are tired, if it’s the last show of the week, if it’s late, if it’s raining… you’ve got five strikes against you already. So I felt like, let’s eliminate as many of the conditions as possible so that maybe the work can be just looked at as the work.”

5. He’s into Grindr (and doesn’t care what you think about it.) “I went on Grindr a couple of times….Why not! I don’t have any hang-ups about those kinds of things….I’ve talked about having hair transplants, I’ve talked about my drug problems, I’ve talked about my drinking problems, I’ve talked about sex. I just think it’s so much better to sort of be honest…”

6. He’s got a ‘no regrets’ policy. “I have “Shameless” tattooed on my chest, and I think that’s what I aspire to be. I aspire to be able to say what I think and do what I want and not have that feeling of guilt or shame about it….It just feels like a freedom in some way.”

7. He really likes to be naked. “Mert and Marcus were doing this book [of nudes.] [After that], every time I was asked to do a picture for anyone they would be like… “Will you take your clothes off?” I finally felt like, for the first time in my life I’m comfortable. I’m just as comfortable naked as I am covering up.”

8. He’s totally okay with life post-Louis Vuitton. Really. “I had a hard time looking at [Louis Vuitton] at first. I think I got pretty down and depressed, but I love what Nicolas [Ghesquière] does. I really admire him and I have really great respect for him. I think they wanted a change, and I think the change they made is really good.”

9. He’s not a control freak. “I wouldn’t define myself that way. Maybe other people would. I think that it’s difficult for me to arrive at a place where I think something is right, and when I get to that place, I feel like I’m very sure of what needs to be changed in order to really make it right… and to make me like it.”

10. He’s all about Yves. “Saint Laurent was one of those early names that I learned as a kid. Of course, since then I have learned a lot more names, and there are people I admire, but they all have that kind of thing in common….There is a kind of ambience, an aura. There’s a mystique.”