To receive the Vogue Business newsletter, sign up here.
With his latest show staged in Château de Versailles, Simon Porte Jacquemus has joined the big leagues. Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid walked the runway on Monday along the vast Grand Canal, with a sea of 150 guests watching from boats dotted with parasols, including Victoria Beckham, Eva Longoria, Monica Bellucci and Adèle Exarchopoulos.
The venue is rich with fashion history, and Jacquemus is now part of its story. The Battle of Versailles fashion show in 1973 marked a turning point for the industry, and megabrands Dior and Chanel have hosted their own memorable runway shows there in the past. For Jacquemus, a 14-year-old brand emerging from its fledgling years into the establishment, it wasn’t easy to get Versailles.
“At the first meeting, it was, ‘Tell me your idea. It’s not going to be possible, but I can hear it,’” Simon Porte Jacquemus told editors in the garden after the show. Jacquemus, who is known for his determination, managed to convince the venue after months of discussion. He saw the eventual agreement as a play for a younger audience through his brand. “My brand is linked with the youth — I think it’s also why Versailles decided to have me and build a relationship. You don’t rent Versailles, it’s a collaboration. It’s something more special.” Does that mean there’s more to come? “It will continue with patronage. Being able to do it today moves me a lot, thinking that the brand can contribute.”
Jacquemus is growing up, and the Versailles show comes as the brand is hitting multiple milestones. It’s a good time to get eyes on its ascent. Sales surpassed €200 million last year, up from approximately €100 million in 2021, according to the brand, which now employs 250. For 2023, CEO Bastien Daguzan doesn’t give a target, but he says that the brand is on track to reach €500 million by 2025. The strategy to get there includes a higher-end positioning, the development of menswear, and expansion in the US. Already, it’s going global. There’s evidence in the fact that Jacquemus is everywhere, from a permanent location on Avenue Montaigne to a beach in Saint-Tropez (plus pop-up stores in Lake Como and Positano). It also has an ongoing collaboration with Nike.
Has Jacquemus already become a megabrand? “I don’t know. We’re becoming an interesting brand to look at in any case, not just a designer brand but a brand in the broader sense,” says Daguzan.
The store on Avenue Montaigne put it in close company with Dior, near its historic flagship. It was meant to be a temporary pop-up, but performance and interest turned it permanent. “I wanted to put up a sign saying ‘we are staying!’” It’s the brand’s first standalone store and is its way to reduce the share of business generated by wholesale distribution (approximately 60 per cent currently). Opening new stores is on the agenda, starting with the US and UK. Pop-ups will remain part of the strategy.
Another area full of potential is menswear, led by Asia and online, says Daguzan. The category currently represents 15 per cent of the business. “Menswear has exploded this season, with the raffia collection that’s in stores,” notes Jacquemus. There were 12 menswear looks in the new collection.
A new handbag named Le Calino with a more elevated positioning was introduced at the show (following the recent launch of Le Bisou at a lower price point targeting a younger clientele). “We try to have both positioning to make the brand perennial,” says Daguzan. Accessories (led by handbags) represent approximately 60 per cent of the sales.
Monday’s show was named “Le Chouchou” (or scrunchie in French), referencing the puffiness of some of the looks and is inspired by both Princess Diana and Marie Antoinette. “Collections that have been staged here have always referenced the palace,” notes Château de Versailles president Catherine Pégard, who joyfully embarked on one of the boats. The collection included dramatic sleeves, cut-off crinolines and scrunchie-style hoods, and three wedding dresses closed the show in blue, white and red, the French flag’s colour. “It was magical,” says Ludovic de Saint Sernin after the show. (Other designers, including Courrèges’s Nicolas di Felice and Schiaparelli’s Daniel Roseberry, were in attendance.)
After setting the bar so high with Versailles, what’s next? Hospitality would be a legitimate category to dip into. “It would be nice one day at Jacquemus when we are ready,” Daguzan says. Jacquemus says: “I am just excited to tell other stories. It could be a place that’s super tiny. It’s not bigger and bigger, stronger and stronger — it’s something else.”
Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com.
More from this author:
From Loewe to Louis Vuitton, Paris delivers high-impact men’s week
Not-so-quiet luxury: Antoine Arnault’s vision for Berluti and Loro Piana
A Rhude awakening: Rhuigi Villaseñor on what’s next for his own brand
