Behind the Designer: Jacquemus
Graphic by Angela Cheng. Image via The Business of Fashion
If you happen to follow any of the “mainstream” models or A-list celebrities on social media, you’ve almost certainly seen the name Jacquemus (pronounced: jahk-moos) pop up on your social media feed. Especially recently, as Jacquemus just had his beautiful show for his Fall/Winter collection. Titled “Le’Année 97,” he featured models Bella Hadid, Gigi Hadid and Joan Smalls.
The label was founded by the handsome Simon Porte Jacquemus, a 30-year-old Frenchman. Porte Jaquemus grew up in the small town of Mallemort in southern France. His childhood town was a farming area, where his parents specialized in growing carrots and spinach. However, Porte Jacquemus yearned for a different career.
Image via The Business of Fashion
At the age of 18, Porte Jacquemus attended École supérieure des arts et techniques de la mode (ESMOD) in Paris, a private French fashion school. However, he left the program prematurely to become an assistant stylist at Citizen K fashion. Shortly after in 2009, Porte Jacquemus’ mother suddenly passed away in a car crash. The designer created his brand Jacquemus as tribute to his mother Valérie, whose maiden name was Jacquemus.
Porte Jacquemus shared to The Cut that his sudden jump into becoming a fashion designer was because he “didn’t want to waste time,” and felt like he wasn’t learning anything at the institution. While working on starting up his brand, he was a sales assistant at a Comme des Garçons store. He said at that job he learned more about fashion than he did during his schooling, as well as how to find affordable designer pieces of clothing.
Because of this experience, Porte Jacquemus has made an effort to keep his luxury designer line as affordable as possible. When first starting his brand, he hired a seamstress for 100 euros and created a look that could be staged as a “protest” outside of Dior on Avenue Montaigne during Paris Fashion Week. As the years went on, Jacquemus continued to prioritize the affordability of his line and support Parisian minimalism. He has stated to The Business of Fashion, that after he found out one of his pieces cost more than 1000 euros, he asked his team to look into the fabrics and materials again, in order to lower the price. Growing up in a small town clearly taught him the value of a euro.
By 2012, Jacquemus made it into Paris Fashion week and exhibited his first show around a swimming pool. He has always connected his brand to his childhood in Mallemort, and likes to evoke a sense of naivety in his collections.
Image via Vestiaire Collective
As the years have passed by, Jacquemus’s collections have continued to amaze his supporters and the fashion industry. They are sleek, classic, smooth and graceful. Unsurprisingly, each year he has become more popular. In 2019, he was predicted to have made $20 million.
Jacquemus’ recent Fall/Winter 20 collection is truly beautiful. Full of linen and shades of beige, soft and mauve tones, he stays true to his small town and minimalistic roots. The female collection is sexy and classy, while the menswear is the perfect embodiment of masculine chic. Porte Jacquemus is a designer people need to keep on their radar because there is no doubt he will continue to make beautiful pieces of clothing that will be highlighted throughout mainstream media.
F/W 20 Le’Année 97 Show. Image via HYPEBAE
F/W 20 Le’Année 97 Show. Image via HYPEBAE