WARDROBE: Marc Jacobs gives more bags to covet

Marc Jacobs once again earned mixed reviews this season. This time, for his directional Louis Vuitton collection in Paris, which featured a much-hyped series of gorgeous handbags created with artist Richard Prince and go-to-hell cultural references like “SpongeBob SquarePants.” He also cited Rei Kawakubo as influence (critics accused him of biting her for his spring Marc Jacobs work). Apparently, he’s still bristling over all of the reviews of his New York collection, because during an interview with Style.com’s Sarah Mower backstage, he defiantly owned the collections notes of Comme des Garcons. Marc is not the first or last to use Rei’s work as a springboard for his own, though. As one friend who has worked with Rei recently put it, most ideas begin with her and then other designers take bits and pieces from her collections and re-work them in a more commercial vein. So there you have it. Whether or not his interpretation of her ideas are necessarily brilliant, is up to the critic or consumer. We personally love the Prince's treatment of the classic LV logo in the handbags and the trippy series of sexy nurse uniforms.