Yesterday Marc Jacobs caused a stir by accidentally sharing a nude selfie with his 199k Instagram followers. Whoops. The picture, which was taken down almost immediately, was captioned “It’s yours to try!” But as a social media storm inevitably unfolded (one site even running with the headline ‘Marc Jacobs’ Accidental Nude Instagram Will Live Forever on the Internet’) the designer’s candid response reminded everyone why he’s one of the best loved figures in fashion.
“Yeah. I accidentally posted a pic of my bare ass and took it down,” he wrote. “I was flirting with someone I met on Instagram. Meant to send it by DM. Oops, my mistake. I apologise to anyone it offended. I'm a gay man. I flirt and chat with guys online sometimes. BIG DEAL!”
Well said, Marc. The designer, who said he was “appalled by the whole social media thing,” earlier this year, is now, as his Instagram feed shows, something of a convert (actually, the word he used was “addict” – as posted in the caption of a bed time selfie he shared three weeks ago). Using the app to debut his AW15 campaign images, Jacobs’ feed is also littered with images of his designer friends, his English bull terrier Neville, and of course, good old-fashioned selfies. More candid and less censored than those of his contemporaries, his feed gives you a real sense of his personality. Which, after all, is the whole premise of the app.
Months after the slimily dubbed “Fappening” hacked into a host of female public figures’ phones to release their personal photos, Jacobs’ response shows that holding your head high really is the best response. And having a laugh at your own expense, of course: