agine,fora moment,thegemsthatwouldgoviral
adDianaVreelandlivedin theageof Twitter.Yes,the
conicmagazineeditorwasknownforherimpeccable
ye and her generally fabulous lifestyle, but just as
ignificantwasherquickandirrepressiblewit,apparent
n thesurfeitofsharplyobservedbonmotsthathave
urvivedher.Suchas,“Youdon’thaveto bebornbeau-
ifulto bewildlyattractive.”Or,“Toomuchgoodtaste
anbeboring.”Oreven,“Peoplewhoeatwhitebread
ms.”Her“WhyDon’tYou”columnalone,whichfirst
a 1936issueof USHarper’sBAZAAR, wasa bountyof
quipsintheformofadvice:Whydon’tyou“knityourselfa little
skullcap?”“turnyourolderminecoatintoa bathrobe?”and“wash
yourblondchild’shairindeadchampagne,as theydoinFrance?”
But,in2019,theVreeland-ismthatfeelsperhapsmostrelevantis
a wordshecoinedwaybackin1965:youthquake.Conceivedto
describetheseismicshiftshappeninginBritain’syouthcultureat
thetime,thetermseemsjustas fittingnowas wefindourselvesin
themidstofanotheryouth-ledwaveofchange.
Forthisreason,whenMarcJacobs—a differenticonofgood
taste—wasponderingwhatto christenhisfirstforayintoskincare,
it couldn’t be anything but Youthquake. “Vreelandwas describing
RIGINAL
The
thetremorthatwentthroughyouthcultureinthe’60s,whichwas
somethingveryvital andexciting andconstructive,” Jacobssays,
pausingtotakea quickdragfromanembellishedgoldvape(what
hedoesnowadaysafterkickinga four-pack-a-daysmokinghabit),
“andthatjustseemedso timely.”HisYouthquake,a moisturisinggel
crèmepackedwithexfoliatingpineappleenzymes,mayhaveyouth
inthename,butJacobsis quicktopointoutit’smeanttobeevoc-
ativeof a spirit:vibrant,buoyantand—thatcurrenthallmarkof all
thingsbeauty-related—glowy.It’snotanindicatorofa specific
anti-ageingcredo,whichis somethingheis distinctlydisinterested
in.LikelybecauseJacobs,forone,is notantiageing.Infact,hewas
trailblazingagediversitybeforeit becameanindustrytalkingpoint
(JessicaLange,CharlotteRampling,BetteMidlerandCherhaveall
beencastin hiscampaigns).“It’salwaysgoingto bewhoeverinspires
usandwhowewanttomakea statementon,”Jacobsexplains.It
couldbeinferredthatthedesigner’smostrecentmuseis theflute-
playing,fashionrule-flouting,self-loveespousingrapperLizzo.She
worea widelylaudedJacobsconfectiontothisyear’scamp-themed
MetBall.And,ashilariouslychronicledonherInstagram,tothe
airportthenextday.Jacobsregrammedit.“I lovewhenpeoplefeel
goodaboutexpressingwhatthey liketolooklikeratherthanbe
a sum of what they think people expect them to be,” he says.Marc Jacobs.AsMarcJacobs
branchesintoskincare,
hetalksbeauty
beginnings,ritualand
themagicofdrag.
By Fiorella Valdesolo
180 HARPERSBAZAAR.COM.AU September 2019
BEAUTY