Marc Jacobs Resort 2015 Collection

Marc Jacobs has your next New Year’s Eve dress all sorted. His Resort collection, which was presented outside the showroom for the first time in an Upper East Side town house, was devoted almost exclusively to party clothes. Dolly bird minidresses in black guipure lace, jewel-toned crushed velvet, or leopard-printed sequins worn with sheer black hose and strappy heels or slouchy go-go boots formed the crux of the lineup. "People getting dressed up, going out. Happy, lively," offered Jacobs’ design director, Joseph Carter, when he was asked for a few words backstage.

The design team explored some of the same territory here that Hedi Slimane has at Saint Laurent in recent seasons. But Jacobs has long had an affection for the 1960s, as a backward glance at his Fall show reminds us. This collection will have a more straightforward appeal for customers than that one did, precisely because of how mood-elevating minidresses and sparkle can be. (Despite Jessica Lange’s insistence that "Happy Days Are Here Again" back in February, that show resonated darkly.)

Carter and co. nodded in the direction of more casual occasions with a red sweatshirt embroidered with crystal stars on the chest (the descendant of MJ’s popular Coca-Cola sweatshirt for Spring ’14) and a crinkle leather mini. But it wasn’t all leggy all the time. There was a pantsuit in acid-bright abstract floral silk chiné, and one of the best looks in the show was a pair of skinny sequined black guipure flares topped by a white rabbit fur jacket complete with a built-in bow.