What went down at Marc Jacobs’ lightning-fast library show at NYFW Womenswear

If there’s any New York Fashion Week show to be extremely prompt for, it’s Marc Jacobs – his AW23 runway show lasted exactly three minutes, after all. So, the likes of Nara Smith and Lil Uzi Vert trekked early uptown on the Monday night before fashion week begins. By 7.30pm on the dot, everyone was seated in one long row. Here’s everything that went down at the SS25 show.

The designer returned to the New York City landmark to present his Spring Summer 2025 collection. It was set in the same space where Bella Hadid once walked with micro bangs at the AW22 show and where models walked with silk eyeshadow and eyelash eye masks just one season prior. Outside, New Yorkers gathered to catch glimpses of J Balvin and Tracee Ellis Ross. One thing is for sure: Jacobs loves a library. He either has a soft spot for stone corridors or is passionate about American children’s reading skills reaching new lows.

Titled ‘Courage’, the designer’s latest collection continued his exploration of Polly Pocket-shaped clothing. There were highly spherical and exaggerated proportions throughout, as well as chunky pumps and disk-shaped shoulder pads that resembled a trip to Disneyland. “Guided by heart, humility and gratitude, I have come to understand that fear is not my enemy – it’s a necessary companion to creativity, authenticity, integrity and life,” Jacobs wrote in the show’s notes. “With precious freedom we dream and imagine without limitation, daring to be vulnerable in the face of criticism and failure, not to escape from reality but to help navigate, understand and confront it – exploring through curiosity, conviction, compassion and love.”

Each model that walked the runway had been given the gift of a circular kiss from the show’s make-up artist, Dame Pat McGrath. There were small black glittery stick-on beauty spots on cheekbones, large red dots on cheeks and even larger circles stuck to the centre of lips. Besides the connect-the-dot facial arrangements, the make-up for the show was otherwise minimal, with hairstylist Duffy completing the looks with dishevelled and brushed-out Victorian up-dos.

In his signature fashion, the Marc Jacobs show came to an end in a matter of minutes. Alex Consani walked the runway in a puffy red gown to close the show. She had a red dot over her lips and black pumps with a circus-style XXL toe. At the end of the runway, she brought her hands to her hips. After a brief “Is this really over?” pause, everyone clapped and cheered – fully satisfied after only six minutes of action.

Scroll through the gallery at the top of the page for Marc Jacobs’ entire SS25 collection, and the gallery below for all the backstage action.