Marc Jacobs The Americans

A piece from the Marc Jacobs spring collection. (Louis Lanzano/Associated Press)

There has been so much talk in this election year about what America is and what it isn’t. For writers, musicians, artists and, yes, fashion designers it has always been a fertile subject, especially for those willing to think about American life and history at all its complex and contradictory levels. Marc Jacobs tonight in New York really evoked that quality of thought. During the show, staged on a runway lined with mirrors and with mirrored dressing room doors at the start, people were wondering if his reference was the 1939 film “The Women.” Others remembered the checks and straw boaters in Yves Saint Laurent’s 1978 “Broadway Suit” collection. A few hacks said Mary Poppins.

But the clue was in the music: Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” its jazzy whine heard throughout the show. There was very much an American aesthetic, country to city, running through the layers of prints and ginghams, the belted jackets over black suffragette skirts, the 1940s trousers, a slim sleeveless white tunic embroidered with leaves, the tops that resembled over-the-shoulder aprons, the soft little turbans, and a stunning pair of simple evening dresses done in a narrow red and white stripe. One could also see a black aesthetic and the look of country women in their everyday clothes, especially the sashed apron/work smocks worn with a metallic jacquard print skirt or a pair of wide 40s trousers. Nearly all the models wore slightly flattened hats (thanks to the milliner Stephen Jones), and the jewelry consisted of chunky bangles and bold, ornamental chain necklaces.

The thing is soccer jerseys cheap, all these American references are there for anybody to find if they bother to look and then imagine them in a contemporary way. To some degree it might take an American designer living in Paris to see such elements, to honor them in a sophisticated way, and to surprise us all.

But it is possible. There is just that trace of Saint Laurent in the collection, mainly in a sharply tailored black jacket with raised shoulders worn with slim shorts and in the “Broadway” reference. But that liberal freedom to use what Jacobs needs is also what makes this collection so powerful.

It put people in a good mood as they gathered backstage to talk to Jacobs and watch the usual crush with celebrities (Jennifer Lopez, Victoria Beckham et al). As Michael Roberts of Vanity Fair said, “It was so much more up than when he tries to be cool. It was great. I was happy to be here.”