Last night, Marc Jacobs unofficially inaugurated New York Fashion Week with an intimate SS25 presentation at the New York Public Library. Calling it Courage, the collection – rife with playful shapes and a whimsical sentiment – delved into themes of resilience and the beauty found in everyday life.

Despite being a concise, six-minute affair, the offering left a truly lasting impression thanks to its swollen silhouettes. Jacobs showcased uber-voluminous outfits that drew a parallel to Comme des Garçons’ famed Lumps and Bumps collection, emphasising exaggerated forms and challenging what’s considered traditional. That meant models – faces speckled with two-dimensional shapes courtesy of Pat McGrath – strode across the catwalk in bulbous dresses and jackets, huge structured skirts and balloon-like babydolls, atop giant platform boots with fiercely spiked and curled toes. Looks were proportioned like those of paper dolls, bouncing off of the last few seasons’ increasingly bloated collections, but this time with a more elevated, more grown-up twist: think tailored trousers, trench coats and fair isle knits all blown up with the carfree flare of a bouncy castle. To highlight the designer’s exploration of the ordinary, the final looks came in lush, red velvet fabrications with an iridescent tinge and swelled into lumpy evening gowns. As supersized as it all was, it was distinctly Jacobs in its execution.

The choice of venue, meanwhile – the grand, deeply intellectual setting of the New York Public Library – reinforced the collection’s underlying theme of finding strength and beauty in the overlooked and mundane. By stripping back theatrics and allowing the craftsmanship to take centre stage, Jacobs delivered a collection that was both conceptual and surprisingly wearable.

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