Heaven by Marc Jacobs has been gaining steam on TikTok due to its use of “counterculture” figures and Y2K-esque marketing. However, despite the brand ethos pertaining to creating clothes that are meant to resonate with youth culture, behind the fish eye lens video recordings and celebrity endorsements lies a problematic leverage of subcultures.

Heaven by Marc Jacobs is often praised by its marketing campaign, with people praising the choice of celebrity endorsements, but it’s fairly obvious that the brand is just endorsing celebrities that will statistically resonate with their target audience the most, exactly like any other brand would do. This doesn’t make the envelope-pushing nor is it worthy of praise, Gen-Z consumers are quick to point out when a brand is out of touch, but is easily enamoured when a brand aligns with them, even though the methods of doing so is unethical. In other words, of course they pick celebrities with a perceived image of being “weird,” because that is the whole point of their brand image. The same can be said for brands that have faced similar backlash in the past such as Lululemon and Brandy Melville.

Heaven has stated that it is inspired by Y2K subcultures and countercultures, and it has gone so far as acknowledging its inspirations such as selling Fruits magazine in-store as homage, or selling Wong Kar Wai’s Fallen Angels posters on its site. However, gaining inspiration from a such specific and under-represented cultures, without the originators gaining any sliver of benefit from the success of Heaven makes it seem like this cultural exchange is a one way street. Harajuku and Kawaii culture predates Heaven by a long shot, and individuals who look to participate in this style can do so, albeit it might take a while scrolling through endless pages of Depop, or scouring the city for a good thrift find.

Allowing a wider audience to acknowledge and discover these sources from an era that has passed is a good thing, people can discover and learn about cultures wildly different from the current era. The caveat to this though is that it must be done tastefully. Although individuals can discover things like Harajuku street culture and the 00s era of Japanese youth culture, these individuals discover it through the lens that it is a purely a clothing trend, and does not elaborate on how this was how youth culture responded to the socioeconomic pressure facing Japanese society during that period. We lose out on valuable information about these sources of inspiration because Heaven presents it as an uninspired copy, rather than genuine respect for the culture.

Furthermore, because of Heaven's inspirations, the existence of the brand itself is inauthentic. Not only does it contradict the idea of being underground and quirky by being as mainstream as possible, it also contradicts the idea of it being a welcoming environment for like-minded individuals, as forking over 100 Euros for a logo t-shirt doesn’t scream inclusivity in the minds of many, especially when the roots of this counterculture is meant to be anti-establishment, or at least non-discriminatory in the sense of who gets to participate.

This brand capitalises heavily on the popularisation and romanticisation of subcultures, and despite collaborating with a few small-scale labels and artists, still leaves a lot to be desired in terms of giving flowers to those they owe their success to. It isn’t a surprise that a label headed by LVMH, the largest luxury conglomerate in the world, would focus on profitability rather than paying proper homage to the originators of the aesthetic.

There is nothing wrong with taking design cues from multiple sources of inspiration, but it all comes down to the manner in which it’s been done, and Heaven by Marc Jacobs is an exemplar in how best to generate a quick profit, but at the same time detract the magic and allure from various niche cultures via parasitic design and subsequently, inauthenticity.

When Y2K and the aesthetics used by the brand, particularly the East Asian aesthetics, fall out of favour in the West, the figures and values that made the subculture so enticing and endearing to those who started it will be discarded, as if it were just another passing fad. This is the danger of Heaven by Marc Jacobs, and this is why buyer should always beware; and not be beguiled by another cog in the machine of over-consumption, masquerading as the spokesperson for Gen-Z youth.