HEAVEN//ヘブン//天堂//천국 by (more than just) Marc Jacobs
By Hadyn Phillips
If you haven’t heard of Heaven by Marc Jacobs at least once in the fashion world this past year, you have to be living under a rock.
The polysexual love child of Marc Jacobs and Ava Nirui, Heaven – or sometimes spelled ‘Heavn’ – is about love, 90s teenage angst, queer youth, and the overall “origins of the Marc Jacobs impulse.” Playing with illustrations of mutant teddy bears, bright colours, and nostalgic, sweet elementary school silhouettes, it is no wonder that Heaven exploded overnight.
What makes Heaven different from other emerging brands, though, is that Heaven branches past clothes. In stores (and sometimes online), people can purchase actual Marc Jacobs runway items, rugs, plush dolls, zines, CDs and other little home decor tidbits. The realm of Heaven is truly a world – not just one industry.
Pieces resell online through platforms like Depop for three or four times their resale price, and restocks sell out as quickly as the clock strikes twelve. It’s no surprise why – it reminds the consumers of the fun, innocent times of carelessness and picture perfect laughs. Even celebrities love Heaven, helping the brand reach cult status.
And, with the reasonable price point of $45 to $395, especially when it feels like everything post-lockdown has new and insanely high prices? Of course everyone will be trying to get their paws on a piece.
Despite the collection mostly advertised through American it girls like singer songwriter Olivia Rodrigo, it-girl Iris Law and supermodel Bella Hadid, a huge chunk of Heaven and its designs come from Asian artists and influences from countries like Japan, China and Korea.
The Melrose storefront is adorned with vintage 90's magazines from Japan -- including FRUiTS, a street style publication -- extra stock pieces of the Harajuku-esque bubble letter belts and MJ heart hair clips, and exclusive vintage Anna Sui pieces gifted by Sui herself, one of Jacob’s dear friends.
Many of the garments are largely the genius of Asian designers. Zhozagri, a chinese artist, created a series of unique, 1 of 1 dolls for Heaven; Hideyuki Tanaka designed the bubble robot girl for the first Heaven drop; ANCCO, a painter in Tokyo, was the genius behind the largely sold out mutant baby tees and Kewpie-doll style babies on hoodies and rugs.
It doesn’t just end there. Many of the artistic direction and recent photoshoots have either occurred in Tokyo or were shot by legendary street photographer, Shoichi Aoki, who created magazines like FRUiTS, STREET, and TUNE. His subjects? Other Asian influences such as singer Beabadoobee, skater and model Daisaku Hidaka, and Japanese model, fashionista, and “friend of FRUiTS,” Haruka Kurebayashi.
Elisa Sue Young Park, Korean-Vietnamese photographer, who recently shot for the new ‘Virgin Suicides’ collection even drew her inspiration from “her prized collection of 90s Japanese photo boots … which individually features the works of Hiromix (in Oh My Lover) and Sofia Coppola (in LAX).”
But what makes Heaven this different from any tale as old as time in the harsh world of fashion is that Marc Jacobs didn’t try to hide it. Many times brands will acknowledge the efforts of outside designs and the efforts of photographers, giving them a shoutout in captions or tags on Instagram, but Heaven’s Instagram account takes this one step further. They highlight the artists and members of production as main feed posts, including photos of the creative talents as well as their works in separate posts to give them the proper recognition they deserve.
Asia has always been a huge influence in the Western world, just as Western ideals are idolized in countries like Japan; but to see the two worlds melt together in this breath of fresh air for Marc Jacobs feels like a symphony in my heart.
I only hope that as the world of fashion continues to draw inspiration from other houses, cultures and artistic visions, the distinct separation will start to soften as the industry grows.
The polysexual love child of Marc Jacobs and Ava Nirui, Heaven – or sometimes spelled ‘Heavn’ – is about love, 90s teenage angst, queer youth, and the overall “origins of the Marc Jacobs impulse.” Playing with illustrations of mutant teddy bears, bright colours, and nostalgic, sweet elementary school silhouettes, it is no wonder that Heaven exploded overnight.
What makes Heaven different from other emerging brands, though, is that Heaven branches past clothes. In stores (and sometimes online), people can purchase actual Marc Jacobs runway items, rugs, plush dolls, zines, CDs and other little home decor tidbits. The realm of Heaven is truly a world – not just one industry.
Pieces resell online through platforms like Depop for three or four times their resale price, and restocks sell out as quickly as the clock strikes twelve. It’s no surprise why – it reminds the consumers of the fun, innocent times of carelessness and picture perfect laughs. Even celebrities love Heaven, helping the brand reach cult status.
And, with the reasonable price point of $45 to $395, especially when it feels like everything post-lockdown has new and insanely high prices? Of course everyone will be trying to get their paws on a piece.
Despite the collection mostly advertised through American it girls like singer songwriter Olivia Rodrigo, it-girl Iris Law and supermodel Bella Hadid, a huge chunk of Heaven and its designs come from Asian artists and influences from countries like Japan, China and Korea.
The Melrose storefront is adorned with vintage 90's magazines from Japan -- including FRUiTS, a street style publication -- extra stock pieces of the Harajuku-esque bubble letter belts and MJ heart hair clips, and exclusive vintage Anna Sui pieces gifted by Sui herself, one of Jacob’s dear friends.
Many of the garments are largely the genius of Asian designers. Zhozagri, a chinese artist, created a series of unique, 1 of 1 dolls for Heaven; Hideyuki Tanaka designed the bubble robot girl for the first Heaven drop; ANCCO, a painter in Tokyo, was the genius behind the largely sold out mutant baby tees and Kewpie-doll style babies on hoodies and rugs.
It doesn’t just end there. Many of the artistic direction and recent photoshoots have either occurred in Tokyo or were shot by legendary street photographer, Shoichi Aoki, who created magazines like FRUiTS, STREET, and TUNE. His subjects? Other Asian influences such as singer Beabadoobee, skater and model Daisaku Hidaka, and Japanese model, fashionista, and “friend of FRUiTS,” Haruka Kurebayashi.
Elisa Sue Young Park, Korean-Vietnamese photographer, who recently shot for the new ‘Virgin Suicides’ collection even drew her inspiration from “her prized collection of 90s Japanese photo boots … which individually features the works of Hiromix (in Oh My Lover) and Sofia Coppola (in LAX).”
But what makes Heaven this different from any tale as old as time in the harsh world of fashion is that Marc Jacobs didn’t try to hide it. Many times brands will acknowledge the efforts of outside designs and the efforts of photographers, giving them a shoutout in captions or tags on Instagram, but Heaven’s Instagram account takes this one step further. They highlight the artists and members of production as main feed posts, including photos of the creative talents as well as their works in separate posts to give them the proper recognition they deserve.
Asia has always been a huge influence in the Western world, just as Western ideals are idolized in countries like Japan; but to see the two worlds melt together in this breath of fresh air for Marc Jacobs feels like a symphony in my heart.
I only hope that as the world of fashion continues to draw inspiration from other houses, cultures and artistic visions, the distinct separation will start to soften as the industry grows.