Jacquemus refocuses on clothing at the height of glamor

(Saint-Paul-de-Vence) The Frenchman Jacquemus, in the midst of organizational turbulence, presented Monday at the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence a collection refocused on clothing, glamorous looks, tinged with surrealism.

“I feel exactly where I should be, relieved,” Simon Porte Jacquemus, 34, told AFP after his show, the “darling” of French couture, and an unrivaled success for his generation.

“Simon is gaining perspective on his years in Paris, his personal evolution alongside the House, the teams, the creative ambition,” indicates the brand in a press release.

To present the mixed fall-winter 2024/2025 collection, the designer did not rely on a breathtaking setting, like Versailles, the salt dunes of Camargue or the lavender fields of his native Provence. While remaining faithful to the south, he chose the sober Fondation Maeght, a temple of modern and contemporary art.

Hanging up paintings by Miró, Léger, Soulages or Kandinsky according to his taste, he paraded around forty models, including Gigi Hadid at the opening and Emily Ratajkowski.

For this glamorous palette, four shades and not one more: black and white with a recurring touch of bright red and banana yellow on the shoes and mini-bags.

This collection called “Sculptures” plays on the border of the arts: the bustier is a white cast, plaster effect which does not stick to the skin and the evening tuxedo goes to the side like a surrealist disfigurement or in “false size” which leaves emptiness at the waist.

” Stunning “

In terms of style, in a dress, in a short suit for men, in pants, as a whole, the shoulders are broad and the waist marked, the cuts simple and symmetrical.

Both the man and the woman wear the Pilota leather jacket, inspired by the one worn by the sculptor Alberto Giacometti, with on the arm, the bag called “Le Petit Calino” evoking the curves of the British sculptor Henry Moore.

In the front row, influencer-star Kylie Jenner (399 million followers on Instagram) and her 5-year-old daughter, Stormi, matching in red.

In a blue Jacquemus suit, actress Julia Roberts is ecstatic about the collection. “Superb,” she whispers to AFP.

“A real choice of materials, we feel that it continues to evolve, we focus a lot on clothes,” notes French star influencer Lena Mahfouf, aka Lena Situations.

The fashion show, with among the VIPs, a range of rappers from Shay to Kalash via Gazo, was organized as usual outside the Fashion Week calendar.

And this was particularly anticipated, as the life of the Jacquemus house is closely scrutinized as it goes through a first and crucial restructuring.

Simon Porte Jacquemus appointed Mélissa Ait-Ouakli (ex-LVMH) commercial director in mid-January, after the departure of Bastien Daguzan and some turbulence, which forced the designer to take over as interim director.

Launched in 2009, the independent French brand has experienced rapid growth, driven by aggressive marketing and a loyal community.

A craze mocked by comedian Malik Bentalha in a successful video called “Jacques Mouss”, where he trashes the designer and his parades of “aioli slips” and “fougasse jeans below 2000” euros.

“Zizi” superstar

Very present on social networks, Jacquemus always appears natural and smiling, unlike his peers with a darker and elitist image. For this season, he let go of his geographical and social references: no straw hat, sunflower or cagolesque variation of women’s clothing, the designer showed a maturity and a more classic artistic anchoring.

The company, which only has one store in the world, on avenue Montaigne in Paris, declared to Business of Fashion magazine that it had passed the 200 million euro milestone in 2022 and was aiming for half a billion in turnover. here 2025.

But the heart of business at Jacquemus remains the bag, in particular the Chiquito (around 8 cm long, for 600 euros, or $875).

This time, the star object is the lace-up dance shoe, a “Zizi” brogue created in collaboration with Repetto, which immediately made waves on social media.