Marilyn Manson and Courtney Love have become the latest cultural icons to be unveiled as part of Marc Jacobs’s AW16 campaign. Shot by David Sims, the pair join the designer’s already star-studded line-up that includes musicians Missy Elliot and St. Vincent, model Cara Delevigne, actor Sissy Spacek, and modelling duo and former couple John Tuite and Carlos Santolalla aka Jarlos.
Along with the photos of Manson and Love, Jacobs includes captions explaining how he met the stars, and how they relate to the collection. “I remember being quite taken by her deep, thorough knowledge of and voracious appetite for fashion and music,” he says of Love, before going on to describe her as “the ultimate divine mess in a dress” and “the girl-woman Goddess of Grunge”.
With Marilyn, Jacobs focuses on the performer’s thoughtfulness, and explaining how it was this that first attracted him to the musician. “It was after meeting him that I started listening to his music – in large part because I was intrigued by his persona and curious about his perverse and incredible intellect.” He also discusses his song “The Beautiful People”, describing it as the perfect “twisted companion” for his AW11 runway show.
It’s not the first time Manson and Love have appearred in a campaign together – Hedi Slimane enlisted the pair to star in Saint Laurent’s “Music Project” campaign back in 2013.
The AW16 collection itself featured black feather shoulder-pads, glam-rock platform boots and Victorian-gothic coats which seemed to expand in size with each look that came down the runway. The way Jacobs has cast his campaign reflects not only the collection’s dark gothic impact, but also his obsession with countercultural icons and their subversive power.
