Marc On His Vuitton Exit: “It’s Super Positive”

Marc Jacobs is not feeling nostalgic about his 16-year-long tenure at Louis Vuitton. In fact, he couldn't be better.

"It seems like everyone is, 'Are you OK? Are you upset?' I'm like, 'No, I'm really not.' And no matter what you say, no matter how you explain the situation, for Robert [Duffy] and me, it's all really super positive," Jacobs said. "And if I weren't OK, I would be the first to say I'm not OK. I'm not good at hiding my feelings. I'm also not good at lying. I'm very open about everything."

Jacobs stepped down from his role as creative director at the fashion house last month, presenting his last collection during Paris Fashion Week - a dramatic, dark spectacle that featured highlights from his Vuitton career, including a carousel, escalators and a lift. The designer is now concentrating on his eponymous label, also owned by LVMH, which is heading for an IPO.

"We're both really hopeful," Jacobs said of he and his business partner, Robert Duffy. "We both really believe in what Mr Arnault said, and we all made this choice. We signed our contracts for the changing [situation] in the Marc Jacobs company, with LVMH."

So what's next for his brand?

"We want to do sweaters for dogs and call it 'Bark Jacobs'. If it works, great. If it doesn't, we'll drop it and do something different," he told WWD, before adding, "There has never been a master plan. I'm open to the possibility of anything. I do think that in order for a company to be interesting to the investment community, there needs to be a plan; there needs to be a bigger retail footprint. There needs to be this idea - DNA, lifestyle, words I hate."