While serving as the creative director of Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs tapped New York artist Stephen Sprouse for what would become a historic accessories collaboration. In 2000, Jacobs, who first discovered the graffiti maker’s colorful works in 1984 while studying at the Parsons School of Design, asked Sprouse to cover the French luxury house’s signature trunks in his logomanic prints. The results became some of the most sought-after leather goods in the early aughts.
Now, 24 years later, Jacobs has reunited with the artist for a new 40th-anniversary bag collaboration under his namesake brand.
The honorary team-up salutes the life’s work of Sprouse, who passed away in 2004. In partnership with the late artist’s estate, Jacobs planted Sprouse’s classic graffiti text on his brand’s signature Tote Bag. The vivid green lettering spells out a quote from Sprouse: “Grant me the serenity to chill.”
“I wanted to use Stephen’s graffiti because it meant something to me,” Jacobs wrote on Instagram. “Stephen as an artist, Stephen as a New York figure. It had the credibility of street, but also the style of somebody who was a fashion designer.”
Celebrating the full-circle collaboration, Jacobs enlisted friends-of-the-brand Christy Turlington and Lil Uzi Vert to star in the accompanying campaign, styled by Alastair McKimm and shot by Nick Newbold.
The Marc Jacobs x Stephen Sprouse Tote Bag is now available to shop online and in select Marc Jacobs boutiques for $550 USD. Take a look at the design in the gallery above.
