Heβs the most emerged of the emerging French designers with a keen eye on the βeighties, but for his brand he chose his motherβs maiden name, after she suddenly and sadly passed away. The new brand brings together t-shirts and sneakers with super-feminine dresses with a surreal feel.
βMy nameβs Simon, I love blue and white, stripes, the sun, fruits, round things, life, poetry, Marseilles and the βeightiesβ he writes in his Instagram bio.
Jacquemus is made of simple things, He loves France as everyone loves their native land, without falling into the trap of nationalism. For him, France, and even more so Marseilles, are home. In May 2017 he inaugurated the exhibition βMarseille je tβaimeβ, at the same time as his first book of the same title, encapsulating Simon Porteβs vision of his nation, of life, the sun and the flowers.
βI fell in love with Marseille when I was an adolescent”, says Jacquemus over the phone. “I grew up in the country, I was obsessed by Marseilles and the sea, and I loved coming for the weekend to take a swim. The city is always so special for perfect days with nothing to do but gaze at the sea and eat fresh tomatoes. The simple lifeβ.
His goal is to βmake people smile more, and get them singing in the streetsβ. Simon Porte is neither the Stylist-Artist aiming to create works of art, nostalgic for haute couture, nor the streetwise creative who thinks elegance is out. Simon Porte seems to have understood what is more often than not lost when reasoning about fashion, struggling to justify it or find who-knows-what hidden meanings in it.
Fashion is above all clothing, and so aesthetics, beauty. In recent years weβve become increasingly convinced that βthe medium is the messageβ, like Marshall Mcluhan says, as if itβs more important to communicate something through the clothes than to actually wear them. Itβs true, clothes have always had meanings that go way beyond the simple concept of cover. But they can still be just clothes and nothing more. They can even be something beautiful to show off, touch and experience. Thatβs where the magic of Jacquemus lies: his clothes are simply beautiful. Theyβre not conceptual works flaunted only at fashion weeks and never worn again. Theyβre clothes to wear, and in 2018 thatβs not as obvious as it sounds. βI create stories and clothes for freedomβ, he declared at his last backstage – woman βfreed from the current logic of fashion, at a fairly accessible price and without any notion of structure, the clothes are a true countertrendβ.
Clingy tops, fleeces, shorts, printed t-shirts transform into the perfect clothes for a young woman on vacation in the south of France, melancholy and introvert. An innocent, naΓ―ve Lolita in an atmosphere reminiscent of an Eric Rohmer film from the βeighties like “Pauline Γ la plage” or “L’ami de mon amie“.Β Β
His menβs debut came in June this year with a line entitled βLe Gadjoβ, a word from Gypsy culture. And itβs certainly the case to say: the collection is a homage to his childhood memories bound to his native city of Mallemort and his very first visits to the beach at Calanque de Sormiou, chosen as the location for the show.
A line βsans chichiβ, straight to the point with no messing around.Β This translates into a variety of different men. White or blue cotton overalls, with the logo embroidered on the left breast, the fleeces with boxer hood, football tunics in precious yarns with silk inserts for the βsporty typeβ; a classic striped shirt or polo, cargo-pocket bermudas and a fishermanβs hat for the βadventurous typeβ; a two-piece trouser/shorts suit with matching jersey or shirt for the βbourgeois typeβ. All pervaded by a cool β nomad spirit.
Details play an important part: the blue beach shorts coordinated with fluttering trenchcoat and surfer shorts in the same material with orange and yellow leafy patterns inspired by Matisse.
The must-have items, and the base of many of the outfits, are the shirts with prints of sunflowers, Jacquemusβ favourite flower, and the patchwork jersey that looks like it was made stitching together rags.
Each piece of clothing or accessory tells a story, playful and young, with a fresh, naturally effortless fascination, which seems to be characteristic of every French man or woman.
True, like many brands on todayβs market, even Jacquemus communicates a lifestyle not just for fashion editors or millionaire rappers: the sun, happiness, rolling in the grass, dancing.
This young designer who in 2010, not even twenty years old, founded his brand and rapidly became one of the most interesting talents of the moment, and one of the most loved by it-girls like Jeanne Damas and Caroline de Maigret, giving every girl in France that certain je ne sais quoi.
If Li Edelkoort is right in saying βFashion is dead, long live the clothesβ then fashion is dead, long live Jacquemus.