by Michele Cataha

Guam - American fashion designers Marc Jacobs and Robert Duffy have been partners for one of the most popular luxury fashion brands in the world. Duffy happens to be the president of Marc Jacobs International and is on island visiting his stores and greeting his customers.

Jacobs and Duffy had formed Jacobs Duffy Designs, Inc. back in the 1980s and in 1986, they designed the first collection bearing the Marc Jacobs label. Since then, their names have been at the top of the world's most famous fashion designers, introducing the rest of the world to their unique and contemporary designs. Duffy is the president of Marc Jacobs International and he's on island visiting his boutiques here.

"I think what sets us apart is that we were one of the first designer lines to do a secondary line. We've always had a relatively young customer. So I think that, that number one has the integrity of a designer product because it is actually by a group of designers and supervised by Marc and myself and it has a following. And it has a following all over the world," he explained.

While both Duffy and Jacobs have been partners for over two decades, he says their 'marc by Marc Jacobs' line has recently celebrated its tenth anniversary. "The collection - Marc Jacobs and I have been in business for 20 years but this brand has been around for ten years and i think the growth has been amazing," he said.

The brand has become so popular that more stores were opening all over the world to include Europe, the Middle East, parts of Asia and even right here on Guam. The store first opened on island about a year ago. The Marc by Marc Jacobs store carries handbags, sunglasses, fragrances, clothing and accessories.

Duffy says much of the inspiration they receive comes from the people they meet in a daily basis, adding, "The customers - I spend a lot of time at the stores. I've just been traveling to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, China, and Japan. We have stores all over the region and I always go into the stores and I speak to the customers. I know a lot of the customers and those are the people that inspire you. You just have to listen to what they want and what they don't like and what they do like. And I do."

Duffy says both he and Jacobs interact with their customers and fans through Facebook and Twitter.

As for his short visit on island, Duffy says it was quite a pleasant stay. He shared, "It's a nice place. I love it. The view from my hotel is amazing. I kept thinking 'those condo's don't look so bad over there'."