“I want to bring the sunshine – that’s it” 

A man fiercely loyal to his Southern French roots, Simon Porte Jacquemus’ sun-kissed childhood has provided limitless inspiration for his cool and playful collections. A young designer known for his youthful yet mature style, the brand embraces an empowering optimism that radiates from his collections. 

 “We know me for my smile and my sunshine and my love of the seaside”

Jacquemus’ co-ed SS20 show last summer, set in the lavender fields of Provence, brought him viral success along with 1.8 million new Instagram followers.

Inspired by painters such as Hockney, Jean Lurçat, Jean Royere and Henri Matissse, Simon wanted the collection to be “a painting within a painting, in a field. Provençal pop!” Still honest to his familial roots, the collection featured playful accessories like “granny’s cake-tin” bags. His youthful approach provides a welcome form of escapism, and a nostalgic return to childhood. 

It was his first collection where he showed menswear and womenswear together, "it was so much easier and a big pleasure for whole studio.” The tailored jackets and shirts could be worn by men and women alike, celebrating both binaries of gender but also the in-between.

Always seeking to push himself further, the success of the spring show made him question, “what am I doing in fashion?” The young designer consequently took the decision to “slow down” and produce fewer collections per year, more sustainably. Like most things, his take on sustainability very much centres on his firm family values, “we have to think more like my grandparents did: we have tomatoes in the garden, so we eat tomatoes.”  

“We have to get back to something more pure and minimal, and I’m making clothes that will last”

In his AW20-21 collection, Laetitia Casta opened the show was inspired by the first piece of clothing he ever made. “I was seven when I made a skirt out of a curtain for my mother, and she brought me to school wearing it.” The linen skirt which opened the show anchored the collection with the level of personal intimacy which Jacquemus imparts onto his designs.

Although loyal to his traditional French roots, Simon is not unawares when it comes to the modern market. Gathering together models and musicians, Jacquemus presents a campaign that tests what is capable under a global pandemic. Taking the limitations presented by lockdown in his stride, the designer presents a refreshingly candid campaign, offering a charmingly “webcam” quality of image. Barbie Ferreira’s blissful smile, and Rosalía’s quiet gaze are a welcome change from the usual model ‘glare’. These pictures, slightly blurry and without undergoing the usual reams of adjustments and manipulations, lend a greater reality and sense of authenticity. 

It’s not the first time Jacquemus has proved he has the know how to hack the young fashion market – as proven with his quasi-ridiculous micro-bag campaign, as worn by Lizzo. She consequently “won the internet” by spoofing her own obsession with the tiny purse, and pulling a miraculous collection of objects from her tiny Jacquemus bag with Mary Poppins style.

Suitably, his most recent campaign star is his grandmother, and in his words, one of the “most special stories for me.” The inclusion of his grandmother in his Instagram-renowned campaign befits everything his brand seems to encompass; moulding effortlessly to the modern virtual world, but keeping firm family values at heart.