Just Like Heaven: A Celebratory Exhibition for Marc Jacobs’ 40th Anniversary

By 1997, Jacobs would see himself as Louis Vuitton’s creative director and go on to lead the French house's first ever ready-to-wear collection. The last four decades of Jacobs’ career marshaled collaborations with countless artists, jumping across mediums. 

The show features around 20 original works and some specially commissioned pieces, all from those who have worked with the designer over the years. Artists like Petra Collins, Marilyn Minter, Sofia Coppola, and Damien Hirst can be seen at “Just Like Heaven."

Sky Gellatly, co-founder of Control Gallery, is also one of two originators of ICNCLST, a creative agency specialized in connecting established artists with prominent, but often unexpected, brand affiliations. The Tribeca-based marketing expert said in a press statement, “Like many, the first time that I learned of Takashi Murakami, was not through a gallery, but rather, through his iconic collaboration with Marc." 

“Marc essentially set the blueprint for all that I, and so many of my friends, do as a career,” he continued. Gellatly has been working on ICNCLST for the last eight years, and before he decided to switch gears and open his own agency, Gellatly headed Hypebeat’s marketing team and led Nike’s social strategy. 

The work featured in “Just Like Heaven” is on view through January 18th and spans over the last several decades, touching many mediums in the process: from charcoal drawings by local tattoo artist Keegan Dakkar; to Alake Shilling’s glazed ceramic teddy bear clutching a mega-heart; and even a candy wrapper collage by Swedish pop-star Bladee. 

Though the Marc by Marc Jacobs final show walked the runway Fall/Winter 2015, his newer line, Heaven, was released September 2020. More so focused on androgynous pieces, Jacobs’ Heaven is tailored to Gen Z sensibilities. 

A sample sale held in New York City this last summer saw a slew of the young and stylish queuing up for a chance to snag reduced-price garments. Vogue reported that the capsule sale included pieces made in collaboration with other creatives like Sandy Liang and the 1980s band Deftones. According to the article, the sale racks were organized neatly, placed alongside purple squirrel sculptures by notable cartoonist Robert Crumb.