Known internationally by the two labels that bear his name, Marc Jacobs and Marc by Marc Jacobs, Marc Jacobs the person is a design genius. who currently helms the fashion house Louis Vuitton as well. With a line that has more than 200 stores in 80 countries, it is no wonder Time Magazine regularly lists him in its "Time 100", a list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Fun Facts - Marc Jacobs

~ In 2001, Jacobs launched his second ready-to-wear line Marc by Marc Jacobs.

~ Louis Vuitton under the helm of Marc Jacobs saw its profits skyrocket during his ten years there.

~ Marc Jacobs during his time at Perry Ellis is responsible for giving Tom Ford his start in fashion design.

New York City

Born in New York City on April 9th, 1963 Marc's early life was filled with upheaval due to the death of his father when Marc was seven years old. The death of Marc's father caused his mother to go through a period of entering one failed marriage after another causing Jacob to move from Manhattan to New Jersey, to Long Island back to the Bronx. Jacob's father died of Ulcerative Colitis, a condition Marc suffers from as well.

As a teenager, to escape the feelings of alienation he felt for his mother and family, Marc moved in with his grandmother on the West Side of Mahnattan. It was his grandmother who created a space for Jacob's to explore his love of design as she herself was well-traveled and educated and did her best to pass on her love of beautiful things to Marc.

"I always say I lived my life with my grandmother," Jacobs recalls.

"She was emotionally stable, and she was very encouraging to me."

With his grandmother's support, Marc enrolled at the Parsons School of Design in New York. It was during his time at Parsons that Jacobs won the elite Perry Ellis Gold Thimble award in 1984.

A Fashion Genius

At 15, Marc started to attend the High School of Art and Design. At the same time he started working at the Upper West Side clothing boutique Charivari. It was the owners of Charivari who first allowed Marc to design sweaters for the store between folding clothse and creating the window displays.

By the time he was 21, Jacobs designed his first fashion collection for Sketchbook by Reuben Thomas. For his inspirations Marc cited such pop culture hit films like Amadeus and Purple Rain. With the support of Robert Duffy, Jacob's long-time creative partner, he formed Jacobs Duffy Designs Inc, the parent company of his future line Marc Jacobs. By 1987 the Council of Fashion Designers of America awarded Marc the Perry Ellis Award for "New Fashion Talent". At the time Jacobs was the youngest designer ever to receive it.

Perry Ellis

In 1988, Jacobs, along with Duffy took over the women's design collection of Perry Ellis as its founder Perry Ellis died. During his time at Perry Ellis, he won "The Women's Designer of the Year" award in 1992 from the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Later that same year, he was let go after he released a 'grunge' collection that critics loved but the company hated.

Following his dismissal in 1993, Marc launched his own collection Marc Jacobs with a full line of menswear to come out the following year.

Marc Jacobs And Beyond

In 1997 fashion house Louis Vuitton announced Marc as their new creative director, where he crafted the house's first ready-to-wear line. During his time at Louis Vuitton, Marc fearlessly partnered the house with many popular artists like Stephen Sprouse and rapper Kayne West.

A documentary film by Loic Prigent was released in 2007 featuring Jacobs called "Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton".

Following the presidential elections of 2008, Marc designed a shirt, sold at all his retail outlets the demanding the legalization of gay marriage.

Marc was invited by the MET aka the New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art to host its annual Costume Institute gala with fashion model Kate Moss.

When speaking about his own clothing, Marc Jacobs explains "what I prefer is that even if someone feels hedonistic, they don't look it. Curiosity about sex is much more interesting to me than domination. My clothes are not hot. Never. Never."

Guy Trebay, a fashion critic for The New York Times wrote "unlike the many brand-name designers who promote the illusion that their output results from a single prodigious creativity, Mr. Jacobs makes no pretense that fashion emerges full blown from the head of one solitary genius."