It feels like I haven't done a retail report in SO long?! I thought it was about time I done one.
There are many brands I am loving at the moment, designer and high-street but none compare to the love I have for Jacquemus right now. It is truly an inspirational brand and as I have become more aware on social media, I can see how he has influenced others and how those people influence other people! So I thought it was important to come on, spread awareness of Simon Porte Jacquemus and why I am so obsessed with him and his brand!
When I tell friends about him, a lot of them have said... who? (Especially my non-instagram friends from around Kent). A lot of people recognise him from the 'tiny bags which you can't fit anything in'. When I see something of his work or something which resembles him, I think of minimal, aesthetic vibes but also nature and neutral tones. He recently released a picture book which I HAD to get. I have picked it up from the post office today and I loveee it. I am going to be collecting fashion catwalk books now for the shelves on my room to make them a little more aesthetic. See some pages below!
Simon started his own label when he was 19. He then moved to Paris and after his mother passed away he created his designer brand - Jacquemus - in 2009, which was after her maiden name (I love a story behind a brand name!). To finance Jacquemus, Simon worked at Comme de Garçons in 2011. To promote his brand, Jacquemus had his friends wear his designs, using word of mouth marketing to spread awareness as an upcoming designer. He done this in Paris during Vogue's Fashion Night Out in 2010. You may have seen his designs in Selfridges or Dover Street Market in London.
In 2017 Jacquemus started designing footwear, and as of 2019 he had a menswear collection. Just from being out for a couple of seasons, you can already see the impact that Jacquemus has had on the 'minimalistic' fashion trends in menswear. Although many streetwear fashion bloggers and influence use Jacquemus in their outfits, I feel like he actually ins't going for that look in his shows and is aiming for a more aesthetic, travel-inspired boy. I have seen so many boys style up his designs and really love it! I would say the Jacquemus SS20 fashion show would have inspired this years surge in attendance to lavender fields too... It definitely made me want to go to one (oh yeah, I did travel all the way to Tunbridge for one, but couldn't get in and the lavenders were all dried up LOL).
“I don’t do clothes; I do stories" - Simon Porte Jacquemus
This quote is so true and you can see it reflected through his work. I also love his relationship. Simon is openly gay and in a relationship with Marco Maestri. It appears he has been with Maestri since 2018 as this is when he started appearing on his social media, but that doesn't mean anything they could have been together longer. They are so cute together! I researched them for my FMP when thinking of who to have on the cover of Stylishly Queer and who to include within the magazine, they could possibly have been a power couple!
Here are my favourite looks from Jacquemus in the past!
Jacquemus S/S20
Jacquemus A/W20
Jacquemus S/S21
All Images are from Vogue Runway! Link is at the end of the report.
Also side note - the last show was shown during the pandemic, are ugg style shoes used because of the pandemic and current loungewear/comfort trends? Or were these initially in his designs or vision? I have had the same thought for many collections.
Here is a moodboard I have created for this report and what I think Jacquemus represents.
I thought it would be interesting to look at the traffic online to see how popular Jacquemus is as a brand. After all, this is a retail report. In July, his online traffic grew by 60,000 from 160,000 to 220,000. This just shows the power of branding and he definitely was trending over social media. I know that over summer I definitely became more involved with the brand than I was in previous years, perhaps because I had the time to research designers I haven't heard of or because I was more involved with social media I was exposed to more appropriate designers. 99.98% of Jacquemus.com's visitors are organic, which means 0.02% is paid. This is amazing! This means that Simon has built a brand and has grown organically, he doesn't need to pay to be found. It is also important to outline that it is speculated that Jacquemus has around 10 employees. Like what.. 10?! This is amazing considering in 2018 he had a turnover of around $10 million. Jacquemus is also the only stakeholder in the business, so all of these funds go to him. It is reported that each year, his revenue doubles. In 2019 he hit a $20 million turnover. I expect this year he has also had an increase, due to lockdown people especially in the UK were able to save money, especially young people who don't have to travel and gained funds from furlough payment. It may not have doubled but I do expect it to increase, considering most of his money is made through online anyway.
While I was writing this post, Jacquemus liked my picture on Instagram! I was sooo gassed.
#jacquemus #fashionblogger #frenchfashion #designerfashion #menswear #womenswear #lavendarfields #moodboard #paris #southfrance
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