What if Marc Jacobs dressed Luigi Mangione for trial? He said he might do it, and it wouldn't be the first time for the designer

After Luigi Mangione wore a red sweater during one of his early court hearings, the sweater sold out at Nordstrom department stores in no time at all. Does that make him a trendsetter? That is the question Vanity Fair put to Marc Jacobs for their web interview series titled Lie Detector Test, in which guests must answer only yes or no to a series of questions while a polygraph monitors their reactions. But the most surprising answer to emerge from the interview is that Marc Jacobs would be willing to dress Luigi Mangione for his upcoming trials. Nor would it be the first time.

Marc Jacobs in the Courtroom

As Vanity Fair's own interviewers noted, Marc Jacobs has dressed several celebrities for their high-profile trials. Indeed, three icons of the '90s — Winona Ryder, Lil' Kim, and Courtney Love — chose (or received) his designs for their public court cases, turning courtrooms into impromptu runways and cementing their place in the cultural imagination.

The most celebrated case remains that of Winona Ryder, who was arrested in 2001 in Beverly Hills for shoplifting various items from Saks Fifth Avenue, including a Marc Jacobs cashmere sweater. During the 2002 trial, Ryder wore a black knit dress with pink and white trompe-l'œil inserts, also by Marc Jacobs — a choice that made headlines and prompted Jacobs himself to cast her as the face of his SS03 campaign, photographed by Juergen Teller.

Lil' Kim, tried between 2004 and 2005 for perjury, also entrusted her courtroom wardrobe to Marc Jacobs. The designer, a close friend of hers for years, sent her a series of understated outfits in sand tones and bouclé twin sets that, at certain hearings, were even coordinated with the outfits of her attorney, Mel Sachs. Courtney Love, meanwhile, faced a series of hearings beginning in 2004 on charges of disorderly conduct and drug possession, and at one Manhattan appearance she was carrying a pink Marc Jacobs handbag. Sources from the time reported that the designer had sent her numerous pieces to wear in court.

All three stars were personal friends of Jacobs, who has generally shown himself to be open and willing to associate his brand with celebrity culture without fear of controversy. And indeed, given that Mangione has pleaded guilty to murder at his most recent hearings, some voices have risen to criticize Jacobs. But can he really be blamed? Beyond being something of a folk hero, every one of Luigi Mangione's courtroom outfits — however basic — has attracted an unhealthy level of public attention.

Dressed to Kill

Luigi Mangione's courtroom outfits have already generated a high degree of media attention over recent months. The thing is, so far the man's clothes have had nothing particularly special about them. In December 2024, Mangione wore a burgundy sweater that internet users claimed was by Maison Margiela. It later emerged that it was, more realistically, a basic Nordstrom sweater — which nonetheless sold out shortly after the news spread.

But the sharpest spike in virality came on February 21, 2025, when Mangione appeared in a dark green knit sweater, khaki trousers, and brown loafers worn without socks, with his ankle shackles clearly visible. As WWD reported, Google searches in the following 24 hours saw staggering increases: "luigi mangione outfits" +350%, "luigi mangione loafers" +1,400%, and "luigi mangione ankles" +500%. Posts on X (formerly Twitter) proliferated, urging people to "steal Luigi's look" or calling him a "fashionable hero."

Then on August 11, at one of his last public hearings before jury selection scheduled for September 8, Mangione wore a grey suit with a white shirt, slightly unbuttoned, which immediately went viral. But perhaps it is not so much the outfit that is interesting here as the person wearing it: a killer who, through his crime, brought the injustices of the healthcare and insurance industry in the United States into the center of public debate. What is certain is that if Jacobs were to actually dress him, the move might be of questionable taste — but the publicity could hardly be better.