Marc Jacobs is not one to shy away from a bit of provocation. He's not, it seems, at all shy in general. In the latest instalment in a series of headline grabbing antics, the man who died his hair blue and counts Victoria Beckham as his latest fashion muse has got his kit off for a spread in the US version of Harper's Bazaar, with nothing but a handbag and some graffiti preserving his modesty (a full frontal version is rumoured to be in circulation). The photo, shot by the equally controversial Terry Richardson, appears in the January 2009 issue, to celebrate the launch of a limited edition collection of accessories and ready-to-wear for Lous Vuitton re-using the famous graffiti print by artist Stephen Sprouse. The line, launched worldwide next January, coincides with a retrospective of the artist, who died in 2004, and the publication of The Stephen Sprouse Book (published by Rizzoli). Vuitton will also launch a website - welovesprouse.com - set to go live on 15 December, featuring interviews with the New York artists' friends such as Debbie Harry and Patricia Field. Quizzed about the re-issue of the famous graffiti, Jacobs was quoted as saying that it has become a classic, "like a Chanel Jacket, or a smoking. It's this idea of a head-to-toe look in this brash, neon, rock'n'roll, edgy, street-informed style. Sprouse really personified it."
Picture: Marc Jacobs gets his kit off for a Harper's Bazaar photo shoot
