the cut's september fashion issue

Playing Dress-Up in Brooklyn With Marc Jacobs’s Gothic Fall Collection

Photo: Zora Sicher

For his show last February, Marc Jacobs created a hushed, ghostly universe. The runway and backdrop were stark white. The music was nothing but the sporadic chime of a bell. And the clothes were incredible: full vinyl skirts, fitted sequined jackets, gothic cobweb prints, and those wicked witchy platform boots.

How would such a thing translate to real life? We enlisted photographer Zora Sicher to find out, casting from her friend group and Instagram. Our models include Gabrielle Richardson, Art Hoe Collective founder and graphic-design student; artist and jewelry designer Arpana Rayamajhi; aspiring photographer Gray Sorrenti; skateboarder Ajani Russell; newly minted photo editor Amanda Alborano; and Sicher’s best friend and muse, Lua Beaulieu.

Says Sicher, “When shooting fashion, it’s important for me that the people I’m photographing are recognizable — that they’re people I know, that anyone viewing might know.” That goes doubly for runway clothes, she says, since they’re so unattainable to most women. Read on to see the Marc Jacobs fall collection come to life in a Bushwick apartment.

Styling by Rebecca Ramsey. Hair by Peter Matteliano at Kate Ryan Inc. Misha Shahzada at See Management using Kate Somerville Skincare. Set design by Kate Stein at the Magnet Agency.

Photo assistance by Grace Pendelton. Styling assistance by Indya Brown. Hair assistance by Kevin Andrew Baker. Makeup assistance by Emily Edgar and Natalia Bizinha. Set design assistance by Kelsey Warman.

Photo: Zora Sicher

Gray and Ajani

Gray wears a supersize twin set, $3,600; Lavender vintage taffeta bow blouse, $895; Platform buckle boots, $2,395. Ajani wears a sequin coat with fur collar, $12,000; all available at Marc Jacobs.

Photo: Zora Sicher

Ajani

Photo: Zora Sicher

Lua

Left: Tank dress, $1,200; Black buckle boots, $2,395, all available at Marc Jacobs. Right: Oversize shearling jacket, $4,200; Tank dress, $1,200; Black buckle boots, $2,395 all available at Marc Jacobs.

Photo: Zora Sicher

Arpana

Left: Full-length printed mirror skirt, $6,500; Long-sleeve bow blouse, $1,200 available at Marc Jacobs. Right: Long-sleeve bow blouse, $1,200 available at Marc Jacobs.

Photo: Zora Sicher

Gabby

Left: Long-sleeve dress with appliqué, $8,000 available at Marc Jacobs. Right: Mink, fox, and fitch patched coat with fox collar, price upon request; Sand buckle boot, $2,395 available at Marc Jacobs.

Photo: Zora Sicher

Amanda

Left: Cropped jacket with horn button detail, $2,100; Long shorts, $1,200; White bow blouse, $995 available at Marc Jacobs. Right: White bow blouse, $995 available at Marc Jacobs.

Photo: Zora Sicher

Gray

Photo: Zora Sicher

Ajani

Photo: Zora Sicher

Lua and Ajani

Lua wears a long-sleeve dress with spider detail, $4,200 available at Marc Jacobs. Ajani wears a multi baby-polka-dot dress, $13,000 available at Marc Jacobs.

Playing Dress-Up in Bushwick With Marc Jacobs