Jacquemus & fashion marketing
Happy new year!!
👋 Hello and happy new year! ❤️ We’re The Z Link, a global Gen Z-led social media agency that helps brands reach our generation. The Digital Native, written by our Trends Reporter, Shaurya, takes a deep dive into niche internet micro-trends and subcultures, and analyzes them so you don’t have to. For any feedback, questions or suggestions, just reply to this email!
Fashion student reporting for her once in a blue moon fashion related newsletter. I’m thinking, if this goes well, I’ll convince my boss to let me write more fashion related stuff. It would really kickstart my wannabe Anna Wintour and Miranda Priestly career. I feel so bitchy (can I cuss? I think the occasion calls for it) every time I talk about clothes. If you want to know how serious I am about that last statement, I dressed up as Andy (pre-transformation) for Halloween. I actually didn’t, I’m lying. I went straight from uni to the halloween party and made something up because I didn’t want to be on the wall of shame. 😔☝🏻 (Edit: This is Shaurya’s boss editing. I was hosting the Halloween party and can confirm I threatened wall of shame because she had no costume.) But NEXT YEAR? Miranda Priestly, trust‼️ Come walk this runway with me like we’re Bella and Kendall while I tell you everything about one of my favourite brands. 🤪
Chapter I: Jacquemus — the man, the myth, the legend
Simon Porte Jacquemus (the absolute love of my life, btw) launched his eponymous brand in 2009 and quickly gained prominence in the industry. He’s won several awards like the LVMH Special Jury Prize in 2015 and two years later, the Fashion Director’s Choice Award at the ELLE Style Awards. Rei Kawakubo’s husband, Adrian Joffe, only sung praises of the young designer. Joffe said he recognised “a freshness and an originality, but most important a strong vision.” Which is true, when you look at Jacquemus’ designs, they seem simple but they’re so well structured and ACTUALLY have a different silhouette from what we’re used to seeing on the runways. Jacquemus is also one of the most affordable brands to buy to get into the world of luxury fashion. And yes okay, you could buy the H&M collaborations with Paco Rabanne and Mugler but it’s just not the same, you know? You won’t get the same quality or silhouettes. And as a side note, I love Rabanne and Mugler’s brands barring the H&M collaboration. I’ve got my eyes on the Mugler fragrances. >:)
Back to Mr. Simon though. The designer gets his inspiration from his mother who tragically passed when he was a teen. He started his label to honour his mother who serves as muse for him to this day. A lot of his work is influenced by the French countryside and he pays homage to his place of upbringing by staging shows there. The infamous pink runway for his 2020 spring summer collection and the spring summer 2021 collection as well, were both staged in the South of France.
Now if you’re not familiar with the fashion house, let me give you a lil’ overview. His clothes are basically art. The different and deconstructed silhouette is so beautiful. I promise I’ll analyse a collection further in the newsletter but for now let’s focus on how he broke the internet multiple times from the maison’s aesthetic to revolutionary products like the Chiquito bag.
Chapter II: The algorithm hacker
Time and again we see Jacquemus’ campaigns make their rounds on social media, have THEY finally cracked the code to virality? Not quite. See people can go consistently viral but still not be talked about, and vice-versa. Fashion brands and celebrities fall into the latter, because even if they’re not making rounds on social media, they are still talked about a lot. That’s just PR. Fashion brands can go consistently viral but they don’t necessarily need it, they’re talked about regardless. Look at Coperni for example. They made headlines with their spray-on dress and were talked about for a while but now I rarely see them in the non-fashion spheres. However, Jacquemus has made itself a household name. 2018 marks the beginning of this fame for the designer and the house.
The spring summer 2018 show — La Bomba — was a departure from his usual geometry and structure and he also debuted his Chiquito bag. The entire collection left such an impression because during this time brands were scrambling to get high fashion x streetwear collaborations that are popular to this day. But Jacquemus went against the grain, in terms of trends and what they usually produced. In fact, he actually started the trend of small bags. So, you know, go against the grain and you might end up starting the next trend. This is why deviance and experimentation is so, so important.
Another one of Jacquemus’ highly talked about shows is the 10th anniversary show. For this, the creative director pays homage to his Provençal roots and takes us to the lavender fields in Valensole. Simon references Hockney in the ramp that’ll be graced by the models wearing his newest collection called Le Coup de Soleil inspired by Cézane and Lurçat. He stays true to his philosophy of not-too-bourgeois which is also reflected in his humility when talking about his collection. While speaking with Vogue, the designer refers to the lavender fields and says that “some people will only remember the lavender while some would see the similarity with Hockney.” He further adds how he wants “everyone to understand [his] work.”
Chapter III: Walk the walk, talk the talk
Listen, what I’m about to say might seem farfetched but it really doesn’t feel like it when I explain it. Right, are you ready? Jacquemus is to fashion what Michael Jackson was to music. There. I said it. Now let me explain. Jackson was an industry disruptor and so is Jacquemus. Could I have taken another musician to explain? Yes, but I have a flair for the dramatics and I wanted to get my point across. But when you look at the runway shows he’s done, he’s right up there with some of the most iconic runways we’ve seen. He IS doing things differently and he’s marching to the rhythm of his own beat. I think for the longest time he didn’t allow any investors and he still doesn’t have any investors. While talking to Loïc Prigent, Simon says that not having any financial backing has actually helped him stay grounded in reality. He could’ve had financial backing but could’ve disconnected from his work and his creation. Which is something we see a lot in the industry. Not to be too harsh but Chanel and Dior have been a snoozefest the last couple of seasons. 🤷🏻♀️
Back to some of Jacquemus’ famous runways though. I’ve already spoken about THE lavender runway, now it’s time for the swimming pool show, a name he lovingly gave to his SS15 show. And rightfully so, the collection was filled with candy coloured nautical stripes along with amateur (but not really) doodles. The tailoring was as fine as ever but on asymmetrical silhouettes. There was a slight hint of activewear, though you couldn’t wear them for that purpose, via the styling. The models were all styled in sneakers with white socks and wet hair with a side part. Dewey, no make-up looks were seen across the whole presentation. Now for the set design. It was pretty minimalistic with yellow floaties and a foldable beach chair in the background for props. The lighting made sure to illuminate the models’ bodies to enhance the dewey, been-out-of-the-pool-for-5-minutes look. All in all, the collection was received very well and for good reason, it was beautiful.
In the following year though, he produced one of my favourite collections. Le Nez Rouge (the red nose), was a collection that boldly featured only 4 colours — deep shades of red and blue paired with white and grey. Like other Jacquemus collections, the catwalk was graced with more asymmetrical shapes and avant-garde tailoring. Jacquemus’ clothes are if avant-garde was made accessible and accepted as daily wear. Juxtaposing the clothes, the set design was kept minimalist, simple and straightforward.
While his sets might be simple, his clothes aren’t. Which is why I want to draw comparison to Jeremy Scott’s Moschino and Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel. So Moschino (specifically Scott’s), if you don’t know, is known for avant garde fashion. They’re not exactly day-to-day wear but work perfectly on the red carpets and ESPECIALLY the Met Gala. Katy Perry’s chandelier dress? Karl Lagerfeld’s collections for Chanel, however, a lot more wearable but still had that feel of avant-garde and outrageousness to them, you know? Is it huge comparing our humble and sweet Simon to Jeremy and a legend (albeit problematic) Karl? Yes. But when you look at the quality of designs and tailoring, you’d want to have an award named after him.
Chapter IV: Online icon
IT’S TIIIIIIIIIIME. Time to analyse my favourite thing about a brand — their social media presence, because if you don’t have a strong social media game, you’re practically half the population after Thanos he snaps his fingers. BUT JACQUEMUS? OH HE STAYS WINNING.
So his Instagram isn’t exactly how other brands’ Instagrams work. It’s a work + personal Instagram so I do think he gets a lot of his popularity because of how candid it is. You can see campaigns, behind-the-scenes and Simon’s personal life. You can call it parasocialism or you can call it candour, either way, he’s once again deviating from the norm. His Instagram isn’t uptight and his campaigns somehow all work so cohesively when placed on a square grid of 3. And if you’re feeling extra cold this winter because climate change and whatnot, head over to Jacquemus’ Instagram to feel all the good summery vibes because that’s what it’s filled with.
Oh and this man? HE‼️ CLAPS‼️ BACK‼️ How? In 2022, he received a homophobic comment and he put the user of the account on blast saying his bags don’t want them. I, for one, think that’s iconic.
Chapter V: The marketing genius arc
Have you seen buses shaped like Jacquemus bags on the streets? Or at least on social media because how are they going to get on the streets, duh. Or have you heard of Jacquemousse — Jacquemus’ younger evil brother? I’m kidding, it was their spring/summer 2021 campaign and an amazing one at that. Okay if neither of those, have you at least heard about the pop-ups? You know, because he doesn’t have brick-and-mortar stores? No? Okay, well, that’s why I’m here so… Allez, I guess? (Writer hates the French language for deeply personal reasons but the French felt appropriate here)
So starting with the buses, another one of Jacquemus’ campaigns where he’s been dabbling in Meta advertising which is essentially making 3D renders and using them in conjunction with AR and VR technology. Jacquemus is a pioneering force in what’s called experiential marketing. Basically, he’s creating all these experiences virtually and physically which eventually get talked about everywhere, on social media and word of mouth. And as a side note: people don’t understand how important word-of-mouth still is because it’s technically an algorithm in the real world.
Another takeaway from our favourite Frenchman is that not all your campaigns have to have a storyline necessarily. Jacquemousse didn’t, but it caught people’s attention and had a very strong CONCEPT.
The end
Simon has not only taught us how to build a brand, but build a life that’s worth living. His philosophy is quite simple, have passion for what you do, you’ll align with the right people eventually. The reason for his skyrocketing success is simply the fact that he never let his creativity be bought out. His passion screams through his work which is why people go crazy for it. Not only does he create inclusivity in terms of diversity, he creates inclusivity via interpretation. His products are for everyone. I’ve always said this to people and I’ll say it again, fall in love with the process. Whatever it is that you want, will end up loving you back and coming to you. (I also tell people to have a strong visual brand identity but I think that’s been made very clear in this newsletter.)
Any questions/suggestions as to what we should cover next? Reach out to us and we’re always here to chat!
— Written by Shaurya, Trends Reporter at The Z Link
Connect with Shaurya on Instagram where she shares great content and lives her best influencer life as a fashion student in London. And she writes all of these great issues too. What can’t she do??? 🧐 Thank you for reading!
i ALSO hate french due to deeply personal issues (IGCSE trauma)