Marc Jacobs confirms closure of his line

American fashion designer Marc Jacobs has confirmed the end of his line Marc by Marc Jacobs.

It was first rumoured last week that the diffusion line was set to be discontinued and Jacobs has now confirmed that it will merge with his eponymous main collection, reports femalefirst.com.

Jacobs said: "In a sense, we're starting at the beginning. The intention now is no different than when Robert and I started Marc by Marc Jacobs.

"We believed that fashion could exist at lots of different prices. It could be flip-flops for $30, a well priced T-shirt; there could be an honesty and integrity in different types of clothes.

"It wasn't supposed to be a second line or the poor-relative-of. I'm sitting here in a $2,000 cashmere/silk sweatshirt hoodie that we've made for 15 years and Adidas track pants and a cotton shirt from American Apparel, and I have a Prada fur coat upstairs.

"I think of myself as a fashion customer, and I know on a daily basis I will wear everything from American Apparel to Adidas to Marc Jacobs to Prada. I love that mix of things, that high and low, that rich and poor, all of those contrasts, the everyday and the extraordinary," Jacobs added.

Jacobs and Robert Duffy founded the label in 2001 to provide customers with a more affordable range.

Now, while Jacobs plans for the line to be reabsorbed back into the brand, it is not known what the future has in store for Marc by Marc Jacobs' creative director Katie Hillier. But it is believed she will stay with the label.

It is also not known whether their women's wear designer Luella Bartley will find a new place in the company.

Marc Jacobs' CEO Sebastian Suhl hopes merging the lines will help them to fill the "white space" caused by the gap in the price points of the luxury and contemporary market.