Scene setting: Marc Jacobs hauled his fashion pack to Manhattan’s Ziefeld Theater where he whipped up a wildly spectacular fashion ride that combined our age’s obsession with celebrity spectacle and classic old-school glamour. The designer’s own name was lit up in huge lights outside the theater's billboard where he unfurled a red carpet, complete with a throng of people waiting to flood the aisle for a chance to oggle a live fashion show. Inside guests sat watching a live video feed of models walking the red carpet, posing in front of a Marc Jacobs step-and-repeat photo wall, before making their way into the live theater where they walked up and down the aisles to the tune of a live rendition of Beastie Boys. Behind the tunes: a 20-piece band that was half classical orchestra and half dead-beat rockers.

Best in show: The clothes were just as over the top as the show production. Spangled in gleaming sequins and heavy embroideries, they all had an exaggerated, theatrical flair, and yet, most of the gowns were the kind of intriguing, high drama clothes that we wish actually walked down more red carpets in Hollywood.

Finishing touches: Together with ratty, messed up hair, the models wore witchy-looking footwear with exaggerated points: from elegant Victorian half booties, richly covered in chinoiserie or embroideries, to sporty Converse-esque high top sneakers.

RELATED TOPICS: MARC JACOBS