The fashion brand Jacquemus was recently cited as one of the leaders among the 20 next-generation brands in an analysis by industry experts compiled by Lyst. The founder, Simon Porte Jacquemus was just 19 years of age when he launched the independent label in 2009. The company now has over 60 employees and boasts a revenue of more than $20 million along with a multitude of high-profile celebrity clients. The brand’s explosive growth has intrigued and excited many observes in the luxury fashion industry and many have been left in awe by the brand’s strength at Paris Fashion Weeks alongside French luxury giants in particular.
Jacquemus did not follow the typical pathway to design. Despite, enrolling in university to study fashion in Paris, the designer dropped out a few months into the course following the untimely death of his mother. At the age of 19 he set up a small ready-to-wear label and dedicated it to his mother; Jacquemus being his mother’s maiden name. He slowly built his label primarily through social media using his Instagram account to depict his creations and share his vision. The label’s rapid ascent quickly drew the attention of the industry and at just 22 years of age, Jacquemus landed a show on the Paris Fashion Week schedule – one of the youngest designers to ever do so. In 2015, Jacquemus was runner-up at the LVMH Prize, earning winnings of €150000 and further expanding the brand’s global recognition.
Jacquemus has masterfully utilised the tool of social media to establish a strong community around his brand. The label’s consumer market is predominantly young people who have grown up alongside the internet and as a result see social media as one of their primary tools of communication. The designer recognised the importance of using the brand’s digital platforms as a way of providing radical transparency and connecting with his consumers. The designer uploads photos beyond product-related content including posts about his own daily life and also encourages his audience to get involved for example, in a recent #jacqumusathome series which consisted of creative contributions from the brand’s 3.3 million Instagram followers. Last July, the label streamed its fashion show live on Instagram and it was viewed by more than half of the designer’s followers making it one of the most popular virtual fashion shows of the Covid-era so far. Jacquemus has undoubtedly outperformed the French luxury fashion goliaths in his skilful use of social media as a publicity and marketing tool and the designer’s unique approach to social media has even led some to raise the question: is Jacquemus an influencer or a fashion brand?
Jacquemus has gained a reputation as one of fashion’s “showmen” from his ability to put on epic displays during Paris fashion weeks. The designer puts on two co-ed fashion displays a year and has previously emphasised their strategic importance to the brand’s growth. Perhaps for this reason the brand was one of the first to host a socially distanced fashion show since the outbreak of the covid pandemic. The 2020 spring show was staged on a vibrant pink carpet that stretched out in the middle of a lavender field and despite the limited number of attendees, the event triggered a social media boom as demand for the brand spiked 186% in the days following the event. Not only does Jacquemus put on magnificent, picturesque fashion shows but the designer is also very humorous with his presentations. At the launch of his Fall 2014 collection, guests were handed white hospital gowns upon arrival. The designer later explained the gesture was a way of “obliterating fashion hierarchy” and served to immerse show goers in the Jacquemus world. It is worth noting that the brand’s accessories often taken centre stage at the designer’s fashion shows, as demonstrated by the rage for the Chiquito mini handbag or the label’s oversized straw hat – both items now iconic Jacquemus pieces.
While many independent fashion houses have suffered enormous losses as a result of the covid pandemic, Jacquemus has managed relatively well in comparison. The brand recently unveiled its Spring/Summer 2020 campaign featuring Bella Hadid shot via FaceTime – the success of this totally digital campaign also shows the highly innovative and adaptive thinking Jacquemus embodies.
by Camilla Groeller
