WHO IS JACQUEMUS?
In the age of the Internet, we've been entranced with bigger-than-life spectacles and grandiose stunts that we've forgotten how to appreciate gracefully quaint ideas. It takes a lot to go against what the masses are doing and do something different simply because you believe things can be done better. Simon Porte Jaquemus noticed this issue and a few others in the fashion industry and decided he wanted to do things differently. At the young age of 18 years ago Simon went through one of the most horrific things anyone could go through, the loss of his mother. Through this tragedy, he put his dreams of designing clothes on hold, left ESMOD (a private fashion school in Paris) and moved back to his hometown from Paris to reassess his dream that his mother was always in support of. After a fitting hiatus, he moved back to Paris and soon after he acquired a retail job at a local Comme de Garcon Boutique.. In this time, he started to cultivate ideas that would soon become pieces of the brand that is partly in homage to his mother, Jacquemus.
JACQUEMUS WAS FOUNDED IN 2009
But traces of the brand can't be found until July 2010 where he showcased the first collection (a f/w collection titled), Hiver Froid. He quickly gained attention for his simplistic chic approach to modern avant-garde fashion. It was clear from the beginning that Simon didn't want to follow the rigid rules of the fashion community. In his 2010 interview for paperblog, he speaks about how doesn't want any bold labels on his pieces, how he wants to keep the price range of his clothing between 200 to 500 pounds, and the way he distributed his clothes was through a website. These were unheard of strategies for a high fashion brand at the time and it doesn't end there.
During Vogue's Fashion's Night Out outside the Dior store on September 8th, 2011, Simon staged his first gorilla show. He had models while in garments from his F/W11 collection hold up signs and pass out flyers that read, "Jacquemus on strike," in french. This whole staged performance was filmed and it's clear to see that civilians and people attending the event were utterly confused by what exactly they were protesting, but it worked. It was hard for the fashion presses to not be attracted to them and ask questions to understand what was happening which in turn only boosted the popularity of Jacquemus. Simon began to carve a place for himself within the fashion community by establishing a certain look as one does when trying to set themselves apart and beyond from everything that's been done.
The collections from 2012-2015 showcased what set him aside from the other brands that specialized in minimalism: his lack of fastenings and muted colors in a sense that felt grounded. In the realm of minimalism, Jacquemus went beyond colors and went as far as making the whole shape of the garments simple as well. He was even criticized for this choice predominately in his Summer/Spring 2013 collection for his use of geometric shapes like in these two dresses with triangle and square necklines. Even though he was getting criticized for his minimalistic approach it was becoming hard to deny his talent.
Its inspiring to see where was at from their "protest" on Vogue's night out to their pop up shows that take up whole stores just to launch a new color of their popular handbags. Simon observed the state of the fashion industry at the time he was coming up and took a risk to challenge everything that was around him. Nothing that the Jacquemus brand has done has been exactly orthodox to what it means to be a high fashion brand, but this is exactly why they've reached such critical acclaim.
