As much as I love established fashion houses and labels, I have a certain fondness for up-and-coming designers. I think it’s always great to look at what the newcomers are doing, especially if it’s fresh and interesting. One to keep your eyes on is the French label Jacquemus.
What’s really fascinating about Jacquemus is that the label’s founder and designer, Simon Porte Jacquemus doesn’t have much formal design training. After a short 3-month stint in fashion design school, he left to become a styling assistant and eventually, he left Salon-de-Provence for the Montmartre area of Paris. And at the young age of 22, he is certainly gaining more ground after his refreshing Paris runway debut last September.
Although mostly inspired by the arts, Simon also finds inspiration for his designs in the 80′s and pop singers of the 90′s. His collections are obviously minimalist but in a raw and sensual way, and each collection is influenced by a different theme surrounding women. So far, the themes have ranged from female factory workers (L’usine) to cold winters (L’hiver froid). L’usine and Les filles en blanc are my personal favourite collections and I would love to have anything from those older collections in my closet.
Get in on the Jacquemus loving now, friends. I mean, if the cool people of Opening Ceremony and Dover Street Market (Rei Kawakubo!) deem you cool enough to carry in their shops, you know you’re on your way to big things.
