Marc Jacobs turns graffiti into T-shirt
Marc Jacobs‘s Paris store was the target of an attack by graffiti activist-artist Kidult. The self-styled « visual dictator » took to Twitter to post an image of the freshly painted giant green « $686 » and dollar signs he sprayed on the storefront, along with the commentary – « 680? 689?…686?! How much are you going to sell this for? #kidultarmyparis #thisisnotart ».
Marc Jacobs reacted, of course, with a tongue-in-cheek endorsement: « Come by Paris Collection for the opening night installation of the new @therealkidult. We proudly support the arts, » they tweeted.
Cleary disagreeing with Kidult’s pronouncement that the tag wasn’t art, the brand posted an album on Facebook showing off the ‘collaboration’, and advertised the shirts with a photo of the tag, which have gone on sale in store for, you guessed it: $686.
It’s not the first time they’ve pulled the trick: back in 2011 Kidult sprayed the Marc Jacobs store in SoHO New York City with a giant pink ‘ART’ tag, which the designer prompty turned into a designer t-shirt that sold for the princely (and seemingly magic) sum of $686.
Who will have the last laugh though? On a one-man rampage against fashion brands which reappropriate and commercialize graffiti imagery, Kidult has previously attacked boutiques belonging to Agnès B, Supreme and Christian Louboutin. Using a fire-extinguisher filled with paint, he posts films of the tagging online.
jt/cm
