“I feel like all of these conversations around aging or around plastic surgery are just like any other conversations to me. The problem comes with the shame around them. And I don't want to live my life with shame, you know?”
Marc Jacobs Opens Up About His Facelift, and Encouraging a New Era of Transparency Around Plastic Surgery
For Marc Jacobs, sharing—like, really sharing—has always been second nature. In the age of social media, the 58-year-old designer keeps nothing close to the chest...and a facelift is no exception. Last week, Jacobs caused a stir on Instagram when he uploaded a selfie of himself post-op, his head wrapped in bandages and flanked by blood-filled drainage tubes. His caption—"#LiveLoveLift"—was met with much enthusiasm in the comment section, with many praising his honesty, openness, and sense of humor around going under the knife. "The transparency is everything!" said stylist June Ambrose. Beauty writer Jolene Edgar also credited his candor, writing, "Fighting stigma in true MJ fashion."
Of course, while Jacobs's 1.6 million followers are used to seeing him share the ins and outs of his daily life on Instagram, there's something quite extraordinary about anyone, let alone someone of Jacobs's stature, pulling back the curtains on their plastic surgery—and in real time, no less. While surgical and non-surgical cosmetic treatments continue to grow rapidly, especially amid the pandemic when staring at our faces on Zoom teamed with a more flexible recovery schedule have caused a boom, the secrecy and shame still largely remain. But Jacobs is more than happy to do what he can to help shift societal attitude and shed stigma around plastic surgery. As he chronicles his experience in multiple posts on Instagram, he’s helping educate curious parties on the recovery and results of the latest cutting-edge procedures. (And let's be real, the facelift could use some help in the PR department.)
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New York plastic surgeon Dr. Andrew Jacono performed Jacobs's “more modern” facelift using the advanced deep plane technique he's been pioneering for over 13 years, which lifts only under the muscle layer, leaving the skin attached to the muscle layers to steer clear of tightness for a smoother, softer lifted look. The surgeon sees Jacobs’s willingness to be transparent as an important step forward for openness and acceptance. “A big frustration is that people in the public eye that have means seem to be genetic mutants and make the rest of us feel like we’re not up to par," he explains. "But the truth is there's a certain point in life where you can’t fix things without surgery. The people who look good never talk about it, so it only adds to the confusion. When someone of Marc's status is sharing, it helps people realize that there are things we all can do to maintain ourselves and enhance our appearance. It sends people a message: Yes, it's possible to look like yourself, it's not as bad as you think, and you can get the results you want without looking like you had bad plastic surgery.”
Ever the open book, Jacobs discusses his decision to get a facelift, how openly admitting you've had cosmetic surgery can help others, and what he believes the future of aging in our modern world will be, below.
This story originally appeared on: Vogue - Author:Lauren Valenti
