My Evening With Marc Jacobs on The Radar

Some weeks back, I personally discovered why Marc Jacobs is so well-loved, not only by industry insiders but by his millions of fans - from teenage private school types to grandmas with canes. Seriously. Every time I drop by his West Village stores, the mix of customers never fail to amaze me. There's always a throng of tourists and hip college students stocking up on Marc's affordable little trinkets - such as $1.50 lipstick pens, $5 compact mirrors, $15 totes, $18 umbrellas, and $35 tees at the Marc by Marc Jacobs Accessories store (385 Bleecker). Blazered and skirted blond tweens with their well-dressed parents shop side by side twenty-something fashion PR girl types, and the occasional older lady trying on vintage style pumps at the Marc by Marc Jacobs shop (403-405 Bleecker).

Along with a hundred or so of his admirers, I gladly traded an hour of my Sunday evening to hear him speak with T Magazine's Stefano Tonchi at The New York Times Center. He talked about his work, and surprisingly, even his personal life, saying, "I feel comfortable talking about anything."

Was it worth giving up a quiet Sunday evening at home for? Let's just say I was blown away with MJ, I swear I felt like we could be really good friends. He was charming, candid, and very down-to-earth. Not entirely what I would expect from a designer of his talent and stature. When it was time for the audience Q&A, he would speak to each person as if it were only the two of them in the room. He is a "people person" in the true sense of the word, and his ability to make a connection with every one who came to hear him speak, getting us to laugh and bitch with him, is obviously the secret to his success.

Read what he has to say about himself, his career at Louis Vuitton, his creative process, his love life, and what he thinks of celebrities and models on The Radar and tell me if that doesn't make you want to be best friends with MJ!

(Thanks to Scott Gray of Marc Jacobs PR for the press photo!)