Simon Porte Jacquemus, the French designer famed for his vibrant and playful take on Parisian fashion, shares insights from his remarkable journey since 2009. He highlights how unconventional marketing tactics propelled his brand into the spotlight. Jacquemus discusses the challenges of staying independent in the luxury market and the importance of creative visibility. He also reveals his strategic expansion into New York and London, fueled by his passion for crafting unique retail experiences. His approach champions fun as the cornerstone of creativity.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Guerrilla Launch On Avenue Montaigne
Simon Porte Jacquemus staged a fake protest outside a Dior show to get visibility early in his career.
He started with €1,000–€1,500 and went viral after posting his first collection on Facebook.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Bootstrap Beginnings
Jacquemus funded his first pieces by paying a sewing lady €100 per skirt and built a website himself.
He published on Facebook and press called within a week after it went viral.
insights INSIGHT
Image Obsession Shapes The Brand
Jacquemus credits early TV and magazine imagery for shaping his visual-driven approach to fashion.
His obsession with images guided the brand's viral social campaigns and aesthetics.
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When Simon Porte Jacquemus came on to the scene in 2009, he did so with a bang. The French designer’s playful take on Parisian fashion draws inspiration from 20th century sculpture, the French New Wave, and sunny afternoons in Marseille. His creations have catapulted him and his label into stardom, with the brand’s campaigns often going viral on social media.
“It’s [all about] having fun,” said Jacquemus. “Having fun is being creative, it's going one step aside and it's playing with the system.”
Jacquemus has been able to build on the social media buzz and create an independent label garnering more than 200 million euros ($210 million) in annual turnover. His fashion shows have been staged in picturesque locations across France, including the Chateau Versailles. In October, he opened his first store in New York City, drawing crowds akin to those mostly reserved for movie stars. This month, he opened another location in London, part of the designer’s plans for a global retail expansion.
At VOICES 2024, BoF founder and CEO Imran Amed sits down with Jacquemus to discuss how the designer has been able to build a successful independent business in the competitive luxury sector and amidst a consumer downturn.
Key Insights:
Jacquemus credited creating attention and buzz in unconventional ways for the success of his brand and his ability to remain independent for 15 years. The designer recalled staging his debut runway show disguised as a fake protest outside of a Dior boutique on Avenue Montaigne as a media stunt that gained him notoriety early in his career. “I only had one rule when I [started]. I need to be visible,” he said.
Jacquemus said his love for imagery and the hit TV show “Sex and the City” inspired to go into fashion. “I wanted to build images and create the sensation of a young boy looking at magazines,” the designer said. This fascination with imagery has translated to the brand’s social campaigns, namely the CGI versions of the label’s signature purse Le Bambino roaming through the streets of Paris.
The brand’s design codes deviate from traditional luxury fashion, in that Jacquemus wanted his designs to appeal to ultra-luxury shoppers as well as mass consumers. “I [wanted] to do something everyone can understand – the post guy, my grandmother. And references to niche things.”
Now, the designer wants to transport his feelings of familial bliss and his childhood in the south of France to his retail locations around the world. “I want them to feel like home,” he said. The design elements of the brick-and-mortar stores call back to Provence with soft linens, high windows and traditional furniture.
As the CEO of the brand, Jacquemus said he finds he may often lean more toward the business side than the creative side. This is something he wants to balance in the near future. “I’m interested in everything,” he said. “I wake up every morning looking at the sales, not because I love money but because I want my work [to become] something real.”
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