Sadie Howard, Contributor
Since its launch in 2020, Marc Jacobs’ Heaven line has become the pinnacle of Gen Z fashion. Capitalizing on nostalgia for a time that its target audience hasn’t lived through but idealizes, Heaven, or heavn as it’s known on Instagram, is a 90s wet dream, with references to alternative trends from the era such as Shoichi Aioki’s FRUiTS magazine and Gregg Araki’s Teen Apocalypse trilogy. In fact, Shoichi Aoki has even collaborated with the brand, photographing their original launch. Heaven is often praised for its ability to harness trends from both the 2020s and 1990s, and has carved a niche for itself among teenagers who may consider themselves in touch with the Internet’s more “edgy” culture. Some of its collaborations with more contemporary pop culture staples include Bladee, who had his own designs featured in August 2022, and Bella Hadid, who modeled in their latest collection which just dropped this past month. However, while Heaven’s colorful designs, celebrity features, and pop culture references may make the brand enticing, its high price point does not necessarily justify the product. Despite the reputable name backing it, Heaven’s practices are no better than that of any other fast fashion brand, and it feeds into the accelerating trend cycle of the 21st century.
All designer fashion, particularly at the mid-luxury level, is essentially the consumer paying unwarranted high prices for pieces which are not necessarily made under ethical conditions. According to a June 2023 report by Good On You, a website devoted to evaluating fashion brand ethics, Marc Jacobs does not disclose information regarding its worker pay nor its pandemic safety policies. This lack of transparency suggests that behind the scenes, its factory workers are not being treated sufficiently. The “Supply Chain” section on the Social Responsibilities page of their website does not help to dispel these allegations, as it does not outline any specific policies in regards to workers rights and safety, rather, it just maintains that there are measures in place to prevent human trafficking and for workers to be able to make anonymous complaints about conditions. Considering Heaven’s prices, which include a $225 top, a $95 necklace, and their iconic $595 Kiki Boot, it is all the more obscene that workers are not necessarily receiving adequate pay or working in safe, livable conditions. Furthermore, some of the most common fabrics used in their shirts are polyester and cotton. These materials are some of the biggest contributors to the fashion industry’s high levels of pollution and use heavy resources in production. Because of these harmful practices in terms of labor and the environment, essentially the only justification for Heaven’s price tag is the Marc Jacobs name.
Beyond its practices, another one of Heaven’s flaws which has sadly become more and more prevalent among mainstream fashion brands is its contribution to microtrends. Microtrends are very small specific trends that are popular for a very short period of time before completely falling off. The pandemic has influenced the development of microtrends, as people spending more time online will overexpose them to certain trends and make them feel dated sooner. Microtrends and the discourse surrounding them have gained traction within the past few years as TikTok, whose algorithm pushes content which promotes trends and consumption, has become a hub for Gen Z fashion. This has made way for brands like SHEIN and Temu, which use exploitative labor practices to produce new designs within a matter of days, to be seen as acceptable brands to purchase from. Heaven’s product cycle is nowhere near as accelerated as SHEIN’s but they are not completely innocent. As someone who owns a piece with their logo on it, I have experienced the rise and fall of their popularity among my peers. When I first bought it back in early 2022, before I could not wait to show it off. But as the brand started to gain popularity, and with it, pushback, what had become one of my favorite shirts became embarrassing to wear, for fear of looking more like a trend follower than someone who had their own taste in clothing. The reason why the popularity of microtrends such as shirts with the Heaven logo is so harmful is because they encourage rapid overconsumption of clothing, the production of which pollutes the atmosphere and water sources, and once the trend is over, many of these pieces end up being thrown out rather than worn or donated.
What makes Heaven’s practices and position in culture all the more disappointing and disingenuous are its roots in subculture, particularly Harajuku. Harajuku is a street style that originated in the 1980s after Western culture started to have a presence in Japan following World War II. The fundamental value of Harajuku style is radical self-expression with an emphasis on infusing Western fashion into traditional Japanese dress and culture. While stylistically Heaven takes influence from Harajuku, reshaping it for a Western market commodifies it more than it pays homage. Harajuku is heavily associated with youth radicalism, so to see it be co-opted by a major fashion house, made so inaccessible, and contribute to a speeding up trend cycle shows a complete divorce between the original style and the commodified version of it that Heaven has become.
Although Heaven has become a staple in Gen Z closets, it does not reflect the values of a generation which has become so closely associated with radicalism. For a line which is so heavily influenced by subculture, its aesthetic is the only countercultural thing about it. Being a subset of Marc Jacobs, (which is owned by its own parent company, LVMH), Heaven could never be anything more than fast fashion with a vintage look and a price tag.