Yahoo Movies Jacquemus Fall 2022
Simon Porte Jacquemus is known for mining extraordinary locations for his off-calendar fashion shows — a lavender field in the South of France, a beach in Hawaii — and this season he lured the fashion pack to an actual mine.
The designer used his cinematic eye to create an ethereal display against the moonscape of the salt flats in the Camargue region. With the dramatic relief and bright light, it was a selfie dream.
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“I started working on the collection with the obsession to restart from nothing, like a white page,” Jacquemus said after the show. The two references were paper — hence the title of the collection, “Le Papier” — and sculptor Alberto Giacometti, which tracked perfectly as the models were silhouetted crossing the stark white landscape.
Guests, including Vincent Cassel, model Amelia Gray and influencers Cindy Kimberly and Donte Colley, made the trek to the otherworldly location. The vast white field was surrounded by mineral mountains and the extra-long benches on which guests sat were hand-carved out of salt.
Victoria Beckham nearly stole the show when she arrived just minutes before start time. “I don’t go to many shows at all but I jumped at the opportunity. I have so much respect for everything he’s built, I think his business strategy is really inspiring,” she told WWD.
“I’m such an admirer of seeing the shows on Instagram, but to actually be here is incredible. I feel like I’m in a weird dream. I mean it’s beautiful,” she said, calling Jacquemus the “epitome of a young, cool, French designer.”
The two met for the first time after the show and immediately started to banter. Jacquemus said he was screaming in his studio when she accepted the invitation, and that morning one of his friends happened to be wearing a Spice Girls T-shirt, adding another layer of serendipity to the day. “We will have to get you to wear a Spice Girls T-shirt,” Beckham joked. “We’ll put one in the next collection for you.”
Jacquemus said the bright pinks and candy colors of his recent collections began to feel “uncomfortable” as an overpowering design note, so he wanted to return to an earthier palette. His recent engagement was another key inspiration for the collection, which had bridal references taken quite literally but lightly with long veils, tulle skirts and strings of flowers dangling from ears.
The 70-look collection appeared predominantly in a palette of white, cream, beige, sage and brown. “I wanted something that feels very Jacquemus. I think that’s why I came back to myself, because I was very comfortable and super zen,” he said.
Indeed, there was a meditative quality to the show, with models appearing almost like mirages on the top of the salt hill — minuscule figures at a distance slowly approaching the audience to the discordant sounds of synth music.
Jacquemus has always had a knack for making a statement with shape, and here he used tulle to create body-con draping on dresses, demure in their white color but not in their sheerness. Other looks were in his signature lingerie style, with strategic cutouts exposing the body or a teeny-tiny nipple-covering bikini top.
The designer has built much of his business on hit bags, and this season he paraded a plethora of puffy styles. Key ready to wear looks were an ’80s-style blazer with broad shoulders and a loop belt, an off-the-shoulder jacket with wing-like construction and cloud-like puffer jackets.
Jacquemus said the business is growing at a rapid clip. The recent hire of Bastien Daguzan as chief executive officer allows the independent designer to focus on the creative full time. On the subject of his upcoming collaboration with Nike, he said that while he is open to other partnerships, he does not want collaborations to be a crutch for the business.
The Nike tie-up has been in the works for three years, and he teased the first drop with an Instagram post the day before the show. The rest will be unveiled Tuesday and available immediately.
The partnership is focused on upscale women’s athleticwear and will run through the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. “It’s something super couture, you will see there are long gloves,” Jacquemus said.
With the collection shown on Monday, Jacquemus stuck to his see now, buy now model, and several pieces were sold out immediately after the livestreamed show.
If the designer wanted a clean slate he achieved it, which opens new possibilities for the label now that he is not a one-man show.
Afterward, guests ascended to the heavens — or at least the top of an elevated mountain of salt — where an art installation surrounded a dance floor, and they could party into the (very windy) night.
Launch Gallery: Jacquemus RTW Fall 2022
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