Marc Jacobs and Lorenzo Martone enjoy New Years day lounging on the beach with Rachel Zoe and even going for a swim in St. Barths. The fashion designer has ignited rumors that he is back together with his ex-fiance, the couple reportedly split in 2010, by spending the holiday with him. (January 1, 2012 - Photo by PacificCoastNews.com)
telegraph.co.ukIt is set to be a big year for Louis Vuitton. A major exhibition opens on March 9 at the Musée des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, called simply 'Louis Vuitton - Marc Jacobs', spread over two floors, each one devoted to the life and work of each man.
"It's a really great honour,' Jacobs told the Telegraph . "It's going to be a super animated, really great exhibition. I'm really proud of everyone here, proud for everyone here. As a New Yorker, I love Paris and I never in my wildest dreams as a teenager dreamed I would have a job working for this big luxury company. Now 15 years on, there is this thing at the Musée des Arts Decoratifs at the Louvre - it is really beyond my wildest dreams. It makes me very emotional - in a good way."
The show promises to show off some of the jewels of the Louis Vuitton archive, from one of the first trunks made in 1869 by Monsieur Louis Vuitton himself, though the main attraction will no doubt be the work Marc Jacobs has done to transform the luxury brand into a fashion powerhouse since joining the company on Jan 7, 1997.
"There is nothing more boring than an educational fashion exhibition in a museum or looking at still clothes on mannequins or in vitrines, so the team has come up with some very interesting ideas," says Jacobs, who is working with the curator Pamela Golbin.
The creative consultant to the show is Katie Grand and the design of the exhibition is by Sam Gainsbury and Joseph Bennett. The show opens the night of Louis Vuitton's show for autumn/winter 2012 which will close Paris Fashion Week, on March 8.
Jacobs also firmly laid to rest rumours that he was to move to Christian Dior to replace John Galliano. "It's a great honour to be considered, and Mr Arnault is a super intelligent man and a very smart man and it was certainly a very great honour for him to know that I was capable - and not only capable but that I am someone that he would have wanted for the job. But I am very happy to be here. There is so much more left to do and building Louis Vuitton into a fashion company is something nobody else can say they really started."
Jacobs adds: "I am really happy and I do love working here. I just think there is so much more to do."
So was it his choice? "Well… it's a little bit more complicated than that…but we agreed that it was probably best for everyone."
Louis Vuitton's first stand-alone fine jewellery store opens in the Place Vendome this month, and the house has also announced that it is set to launch a new fragrance.
"Perfume is something I wanted to do here since the beginning," said Jacobs. "I don't know when it will be launched but we are in the process of working on it - there was a perfume back in the Twenties, a very niche little thing."
The new fragrance is being created with the master perfumer Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud who worked on best selling fragrances including L'Eau d'Issey, Dior Addict and Stella by Stella McCartney.
Designer Marc Jacobs walks the runway at the Marc Jacobs Fall 2012 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at N.Y. State Armory on February 13, 2012 in New York City. (February 12, 2012 - Photo by Peter Michael Dills/Getty Images North America)
Designer Marc Jacobs walks the runway at the Marc By Marc Jacobs Fall 2012 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at N.Y. State Armory on February 14, 2012 in New York City. (February 13, 2012 - Photo by Peter Michael Dills/Getty Images North America)
Designer Marc Jacobs acknowledges the applause of the audience after the Louis Vuitton Ready-To-Wear Fall/Winter 2012 show as part of Paris Fashion Week at Cour Carree du Louvre on March 7, 2012 in Paris, France. (March 6, 2012 - Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Europe)
Marc Jacobs attends the 'Louis Vuitton - Marc Jacobs: The Exhibition' photocall as part of Paris Fashion Week at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs on March 7, 2012 in Paris, France. (March 6, 2012 - Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Europe)
Designer Marc Jacobs and his ex-fiance Lorenzo Martone out for lunch at Pastis in New York City, NY on March 18, 2012. (March 18, 2012 - Photo by FameFlynet Pictures)
dailymail.co.ukIconic fashion designer Marc Jacobs is the kind of man who has everything.
The best homes around the world, the most stylish cars and of course... a plethora of splendid clothes; in short, he'd be a bit of a nightmare to buy a birthday present for.
So it's lucky for the designer's friends that he treated himself to the gift of spending his 49th birthday today with his Brazilian p*rn star boyfriend.
Loved up: Marc Jacobs and his new boyfriend, p*rn star Harry Louis wrestled as the designer tried to take his young lover's picture in Rio today
Like any sensible birthday reveler, the New Yorker has been stretching the big day out.
Jacobs, who split up with another Brazilian - Lorenzo Martone - last year, was spotted at the beach in Ipanema with his beau at the weekend.
But today was the big day, and the excitement was obviously mounting when Harry tweeted:
Today is such an special day day... And it should be a notional holiday, at all countries, coz it's my baby's Birthday, lol. Luv U Marc x
Look at me! Harry tries to impress his iconic boyfriend as he splashes around in the surf
It's in his kiss! The relatively new couple share a moment on Marc's big day
The 24-year-old, who now lives in London, is quite the smitten kitten, even announcing on his 'about me' blurb on Twitter that he loves 'his BF.'
Initially, the pair refused to confirm or deny reports that they were dating.
A photograph of the famed designer looking cosy at a Paris party with the adult film actor led to much-hyped speculation about the nature of their relationship.
Inseparable: The couple couldn't keep their hands off one another today, they later changed from the beach and held hands
According to Brazilian gossip site GPSBrasilia, Jacobs met the youthful and exotic-looking Mr Louis in the British capital.
Star: Harry Louis is a big name himself
Jacobs saddened the fashion world and his millions of fans when he announced his split from handsome Brazilian ex-model, Martone, in 2010.
The designer and PR executive were rumored to have married in St Barts on New Year's 2009 in a celebration that included a cake topper made in their likeness.
Louis is a celebrity in his own right, in his own field.
Born in Brazil, Louis began his sizzling career in Spain and in 2006, after supposedly having his heart broken, moved to the United Kingdom.
He now has over 4000 followers on Facebook and fans of his English language blog regularly log on to catch up on news about his work and look at family photographs.
Louis is vocal about his love for his mother, who - he says - is his best friend.
In an interview with Vogue earlier last year, Jacobs insisted that Martone was his closest confidente: 'We are best friends... We speak to each other, I don’t know, six times a day.
Marc Jacobs goes sheer on the red carpet at the Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. (May 7, 2012 - Source: PacificCoastNews.com)
Harry Louis and designer Marc Jacobs attend the 3rd annual amfAR Inspiration Gala New York at The New York Public Library - Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on June 7, 2012 in New York City. (June 6, 2012 - Source: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images North America)