Australian artist behind cult Marc Jacobs designs

Sydney-based creative director Elliot Shields is working behind the scenes at the American fashion house.

Pamela Anderson for Heaven by Marc Jacobs. Picture: Harley Weir

Elliot Shields, the Australian creative director behind some of the most coveted items from the youth-driven Marc Jacobs diffusion line Heaven, says he fell into design by accident.

Heaven has the monopoly on Gen Z. Since launching in 2020, it has found a cult fanbase through its pop culture and nostalgia-obsessed designs, grungy knits, and printed mesh tops. The brainchild of Australian art director Ava Nirui and Jacobs, the brand has captured the zeitgeist of young consumers that spent their teenage years chronically online, sacrificing sleep in favour of reposting film stills from directors like Gregg Araki, Sofia Coppola, and Wong Kar Wei on Tumblr.

Heaven’s drops, which happen monthly, are always a “moment”. Its campaigns rope in a generation-spanning cast of celebrities, like Twin Peaksstar Kyle MachLachlan, The Sopranos (and more recently, The White Lotus) actor Michael Imperioli, Pamela Anderson, Mena Suvari, Christina Ricci, Doja Cat, Nicki Minaj, and pretty much every other cool person you can think of.

Kyle MacLachlan for Heaven by Marc Jacobs. Picture: Harley Weir

Behind the scenes is Sydney-based creative director and graphic designer Elliot Shields, who has worked alongside Nirui since the brands inception. “It was originally going to be something different, but then Ava redirected it,” Shields says of Heaven.

“We started working on a new graphic direction, For what it was going to be. We made the logo, and well all worked on a new name for it. That’s what became Heaven.”

Shields and Nirui had previously collaborated on design work for the Australian fashion house Helmut Lang, where Nirui worked as a director. Since launching the label, he has worked on graphics and “other bits and pieces”, including producing music for a video campaign. His designs have been worn by the likes of Rosalia, Nicki Minaj, Yung Lean, Christina Ricci and Bella Hadid.

Rapper Nicki Minaj for Heaven by Marc Jacobs, wearing a necklace designed by Elliot Shields. Picture: Harley Weir

Music and design are intrinsically linked for Shields, who is entirely self taught, and fell into graphic design accidentally a decade ago. He is part of the party and creative collective Pelvis, which hosted club nights with a focus on spatial design in Sydney, Melbourne, and Japan, before launching an offshoot clothing label.

“I was designing posters for Pelvis, and after people saw the posters we started getting offered design jobs. We hadn’t studied design or anything,” he says.

Pelvis had one poster “that was quite popular” that they turned into a T-shirt. The boutique store Vfiles in New York’s Soho – founded by Australian native and former V magazine executive editor Julie Anne Quay, which has been co-signed by the likes of Rihanna — asked to stock the shirts. “They thought it was a brand, I guess,” says Shields. “We had to start making bigger ranges.”

Growing up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Shields and the Pelvis crew were exposed to surf and skate ideas and designs. “We kind of always had that idea of what a bold T-shirt graphic should look like. We had context about how to make something more interesting, or stand out,” he says.

“I’m always trying to find something new to look at. It’s going through time, finding things done in wrong, strange, or unique ways, and looking to create that same energy through something else.”

Shields says that nothing about his career has been planned, and that he has just “been lucky enough to work with people that I’m friends with.”

“I’ve said yes to everything, just to have a new experience, or try to learn something new. That’s lead the way.”