Jacquemus announces menswear as he takes the ladies to Marrakech

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Feb 27, 2018

Simon Porte Jacquemus has been hinting for weeks on Instagram about his “new job” and this Monday night in Paris he revealed all at his latest women’s runway show. He’s doing his menswear collection.
 

The designer even wore a beige sweatshirt bearing its name, L’Homme Jacquemus, printed in white, as he took his bow after his show.
 
This was the debut collection of the Fall/Winter 2018 Paris season and it was a great, clean fashion statement worn by a raw and beautiful cast of professional models, along with all sorts of gals from the shores of the Mediterranean. They all smiled and almost purred throughout, so flattering were these looks.

“It’s about freshness and happiness chez Jacquemus,” said the designer, amid a mob of admirers post-show.
 
His inspiration was a trip to Marrakech and the collection was entitled 'Souk', with lots of Atlas Mountain hues: dusky browns; bright ski blues and earthy reds. But, above all it was the cutting that made this a great show.

Jacquemus has always had a fondness for an exaggerated length, an outlandish collar and a humungous hat. But as he matures, his sense of self-editing has grown, so the clothes are inherently becoming. He cut uber-long dresses, slit way up the thigh, and draped with abandon but nothing looked cheap. He also showed a whole slew of clever totes and micro clutches and some neat shoes with mini furniture leg heels, extending his range. 
 

“I made womenswear for my mother, and I always said that I would do menswear when I fell in love. And now I am in love and happy and want to write a new history. It’s not about a brand, but telling the stories of my life,” said Simon of a collection due to be unveiled this summer in Paris.
 
Who might be his muse?

“Let’s see, there are many: my father, my cousins, my neighbours, my plumber or my butcher. I don’t care, as long as they inspire me,” enthused Jacquemus, born in the ancient Gallo-Roman city of Salon-de-Provence, where Nostradamus spent his final years.
 
There is a certain moment when a French designer is either embraced or rejected by the Paris fashion establishment. It’s the equivalent of a Roman Emperor’s thumbs up, or down, for a gladiator in the Coliseum.
 
Tonight, in the hallowed Petit Palais, with its mosaic floors, soaring architecture and Mannerist frescos, Simon Porte Jacquemus, received their imprimatur.

After taking a 100-metre trot, skip and dance down the palace, he stopped to embrace Christian Lacroix in the front-row, sitting alongside Farida Khelfa; APC’s Jean Touitou, veteran model Audrey Marnay and influencer extraordinaire, Jeanne Damas. Enter the era of Jacquemus.