Paris Fashion Week has taken a turn this year, presenting shows digitally to adhere to travel restrictions brought on by the pandemic. Yesterday, Simon Porte Jacquemus pushed the hypothetical fashion week envelope and did the unthinkable. For his eponymous label Jacquemus, he presented a live show for 100 people about an hour outside of Paris.
The guests were taken to a town near Us, France, in the French Vexin Regional National Park—a serene escape with walking trails, bike paths, forests, hills, and wheat fields. It was there down a winding path that viewers were wedged between strands of wheat, seated at least six feet apart.
Jeffrey Gibson, “I Wanna Stay Here With You Forever”, 2019; © Jeffrey Gibson, courtesy of the artist and Roberts Projects.
Snaking through the field in front of them was a wooden plank runway nearly 2,000 feet long, where models walked in the open air in pieces that reminded us of the power of fashion first-hand.
The South of France was evoked in a multitude of summer pieces, from breezy white dresses to linen suits. Sweet, simple details like tassels flung from fabric, reimagined in small beaded gatherings, and in miniature leather forks and knives. Picnic chic visually brought us to the Côte d’Azur in the brand’s micro handbag seen anew in woven wicker with a leather top, handle, and shoulder strap.
Matthew Wong, “The West”, 2017; © Matthew Wong, courtesy of the Matthew Wong Foundation and Karma.
The designer also got creative with silhouettes and cuts, debuting straps that wrapped around the bottoms of crop tops, braided rope detailing on button-down tops instead of pinstripes, tiny tube top-like shirts with oversized puff sleeves, and loose-fitting suits with heart-shaped cut-outs still connected at its points.
Accessories wowed with careful details, too, punctuating the season with gold coil earrings and canvas and leather heels bound with outside stitching. The idea of a Marseille “soap on a rope” was also elevated for new accessories, transformed into “soap on a gold chain” as a bracelet and a necklace.
Glenn Ligon, “Untitled (America)”, 2018; © Glenn Ligon, courtesy of Dallas Museum of Art.
For Spring/Summer 2021, although the future is still uncertain, one thing is for sure—fashion will still be here, and the magic of “L’Amour” is one reason why.
Courtesy of Jacquemus.
