Jacquemus: How Simon Porte Jacquemus Made French Fashion Feel New
– 2 min read
Founded in Paris in 2009 by Simon Porte Jacquemus, the eponymous house was built around a deeply personal idea: a tribute to the designer’s late mother and to the French way of life that shaped his imagination. From photography and cinema to painting, sculpture and decorative arts, Jacquemus draws on a distinctly French visual vocabulary while maintaining an independent, contemporary point of view. What began as a young designer’s personal project has evolved into an international fashion house with boutiques across Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles, Seoul and Dubai.
At the centre of the house remains Simon Porte Jacquemus, whose approach has always blurred the boundaries between fashion, art and personal memory. His collections are often presented outside conventional fashion spaces — from Provençal lavender fields and wheat fields outside Paris to the Fondation Maeght, Casa Malaparte and the Musée Picasso. These settings have become part of the Jacquemus language as much as the clothes themselves.
Among the house’s most recognisable creations is Le Chiquito, the miniature handbag introduced in 2018 that became one of the defining accessories of the social-media era. Its deliberately impractical proportions turned the bag into a visual statement, while Le Bambino, Le Bisou, Le Turismo and La Bambola have since established their own place within the house’s accessories vocabulary.
For Fall/Winter 2026, “Le Palmier,” Jacquemus returned to the Musée National Picasso in Paris. The collection draws on familiar references from Simon’s early years in Paris, combining the sculptural beauty of 1950s couture with the sensuality of the 1990s and the satirical spirit of 1980s French popular culture. Its title comes from the palm-tree ponytail of the designer’s daughter, turning an intimate family detail into a collection-wide motif.
In January 2026, Jacquemus appointed Liline Jacquemus, Simon’s grandmother, as its first-ever brand ambassador. Born in 1946 and raised in the southern French village of Alleins, she has long been a source of inspiration for the designer. The appointment is less a conventional celebrity endorsement than a continuation of the family story at the heart of the house.
The brand has also become a favourite among a new generation of global stars, including Zendaya, Dua Lipa, Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner. Yet celebrity visibility alone does not explain Jacquemus’s rise. Its success lies in a rare ability to turn personal storytelling, striking imagery and recognisable design into a complete cultural world — one that feels distinctly French, immediately contemporary and unusually intimate.
