How Marc Jacobs' Favorite Smiley Sweater Became Streetwear History
Marc Jacobs continues to celebrate its 40th anniversary by releasing yet another hyped collaboration with Cactus Plant Flea Market. It's all smiles here, literally.
No surprise seeing these two brands link-up again because they've been tied together like friendship bracelets since at least 2020.
Honestly, one of the most exciting collaborations to hit my feed during that dreaded stay-at-home-era was a fleece jacket designed by CPFM inspired by Marc Jacobs' tattoos.
The quirky personalities behind both labels just pair well together and it's a shame that, aside from some pieces for a Heaven by Marc Jacobs x CPFM collaboration, these two's partnerships are relatively infrequent.
At last, even though it's just one item, we're getting a proper Marc Jacobs x Cactus Plant Flea Market collaboration again. And yes, it does look like any other Cactus Plant Flea Market collaboration that's placed its four-eye smiley face on everything from Despicable Me Minions to Junya Watanabe backpacks.
But please, don't take this graphic Marc Jacobs x CPFM smiley face mohair sweater at (no pun intended) face value. Put on your glasses four-eyes! There's a deeper reference to dig into here.
Cactus Plant Flea Market's collaboration is essentially a recreation of a smiley-face mohair sweater originally designed by Jacobs for Sketchbook, a subsidiary label by the bygone New York City-based clothier Reuben Thomas.
Robert Duffy, the businessman who co-founded the Marc Jacobs label with the eponymous designer, was previously an executive at Reuben Thomas and hired a 22-year-old Jacobs to design two seasonal collections for Sketchbook.
Those collections represent Jacobs' official entry into the industry and an original smiley face Sketchbook sweater is currently listed for $5,500 on eBay today.
And it's a cute design, very of the time but also appropriate for the here and now.
As cheesy as it sounds, it's hard not to smile when discovering the humble origins of notable fashion designers.
However, this isn't the first time Marc Jacobs has brought this iconic sweater back to market. In 2019, he celebrated his eponymous label's 35th anniversary with a redux collection that reissued that smiley face sweater alongside pieces from his famous 1992 "Grunge" collection for Perry Ellis.
It begs the question though: what Marc Jacobs collaborator slated to work with the brand on an 40th anniversary release would rework the vibe of that rebellious industry-shaking collection the best?
