Marc by Sofia - a friendship of 30 years
If you think you can’t mix business with friendships, think again, because Sofia Coppola and Marc Jacob’s 30 year friendship became a great foundation to a great collaboration. Premiering at a key moment of the year, around the fashion week frenzy, this documentary called ‘Marc by Sofia’ has become a must see at the Modern Museum of Art (MoMA) in New York.
With a complementary book, for all those who prefer paper to screen, this documentary gives us what the people have been craving. Not just those 15-minute snippets of fashion week backstage with high-end luxury brands, as if you’re looking through frosted glass at Dior or Chanel. But this documentary gives you a real clear and raw look into not only backstage of Marc Jacobs the brand by Marc Jacobs, but the creative process into thinking up a design to seeing it strut down the runway.
And what better way to do firsts, your first documentary, then with someone you’ve known for three decades? Sofia Coppola is a critically acclaimed filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer. What makes her stand against others in her field is her focus and attention to the atmosphere, isolation in many forms, the feminine view, and exploring different ages. Many of these are seen in her most notable films including but not limited to Priscilla (2023), which gave us the focus on the often overlooked feminine perspective in the era of Elvis. And she is decorated rightfully to her talent, where she won an Academy Award for best original screenplay for Lost in Translation (2003).
It is no surprise this talent runs in her veins, as she is the daughter of notable Francis Ford Coppola. And like her famed father, she has made her own mark in the film industry. She was the first American woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director in Lost in Translation and won the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival for The Beguiled (2017). Her strength in emotional and aesthetic story-telling continues to be celebrated on and off the awarding stage.
Leading us to see a more intimate and personal side to her work, in her upcoming 2026 documentary Marc by Sofia, which had its premier at the Cannes Film Festival. This time, her name is not just in the credits but on the front page. Described by Sofia as “their Paris chapter”, Sofia was working on Marie Antoinette (2006) and Marc was also working there as one of the capitals of fashion. But this is not their first time working together, with many fragrance ads, agreeably for Marc Jacobs the brand, where Sofia is front and centre. She is even photographed in Marc Jacobs’ fashion as well, all themed casually laid on a bed. Hinting to their comfortable and lasting friendship through the years to come. And in any way that could come, they always seemed to be there supporting each other’s careers. Remember that Academy Award Sofia won for Lost in Translation, take a guess at who designed her dress?
So what can we expect from this upcoming documentary?
Sofia Coppola states in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, that her instinct as a director and as a filmmaker comes from inspiration from photography, where ‘there’s nothing she loves more than being in a bookstore with photo books”. So if material references is what she typically starts with, it’s natural that she followed Marc for 12 weeks in 2024 with a camera crew. Not only do we get sneak peaks into this role-model friendship, but for all the fashion lovers, you’ll get insight into the creative process for a big fashion house. And how much detail goes into every little piece of a look. Where Sofia recalls the focus on “the colour of two different shades that look[ed] the same to [her]”, but showcases the eye for fashion talented designers possess and that it’s not as ‘easy’ as it may seem to some.
She also takes us back in time, to not only the history between these two but the history between Marc and his brand. Get ready as Sofia takes us through archival footage of the brand, before Marc Jacobs was a name you’ll probably want to remember. And most of this footage is a testament to their friendship, where it was clearly never about transactions or publicity but genuine support for friends as Marc doesn't recall ever seeing that footage.
This documentary provides an inspiration and footpath for many young and aspiring designers locally in New York to a global scale. Where the student of the year at Parsons School of Design in New York in 1984 demanded his name be remembered. Marc makes clear in that same interview that he "definitely knew where [he] wanted to go” and like many of us that can relate to Marc in the feeling of not “know[ing] how [he] was going to get there”. But soon his designs hit sales on the streets of New York.
As Sofia Coppola is known for, this documentary will have nothing short of emotion and raw human experiences as she takes us through the personal view of a friend chasing their dreams. It is clear that with this documentary Sofia is inspiring many young designers who feel the fashion world, or any world for that matter, is far too busy and crowded. And it definitely didn't stop Marc Jacobs from creating one of the oversized jumpers to own, next to the iconic Jean Paul Gaultier take on the oversized look, so if Marc at the beginning of his career shared the space with such a big name, there’s no limit on space for creatives. So tune in at most theatres near you on March 27, 2026, to see how Sofia captures the space Marc dominated in the fashion world through the decades.
Written By: Sophia Arceo, @sophiearceo
Edited By: Alex Kelleher @Alex_kelleher_
