From lavender fields and palace grounds, to modernist villas and now, an iconic private residence in Paris, this is our edit of Jacquemus’ best shows, where great style and unforgettable locations crafted new reference points for the fashion industry.
Since 2009, French fashion designer Simon Porte Jacquemus has championed a creative strategy that revolves around crafting viral moments. He has mastered the art of staging picture-perfect, cinematic shows to unveil the latest collections of his eponymous label, imbued with personal nostalgia, drawing inspiration from childhood memories, cherished holidays, and the enduring influence of his mother. These memories come to life through collections presented in some of the world's most scenic locations, if not some of the most captivating set designs and concepts. After Jacquemus' 15th anniversary and to celebrate the brand's Paris return we delve into Simon Porte's extraordinary legacy of runway presentations with 12 of its most iconic fashion shows underscoring a deep-rooted belief in the significance of the catwalk as a core component of the brand's narrative.
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1. Spring/Summer 2020, Le Coup de Soleil in Valensole in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
An obvious choice for any list of Jacquemus' best shows is one that made him a household name. In a celebration of the brand's 10th anniversary, the designer staged his Le Coup de Soleil show amongst brilliant lavender fields in full bloom. Against this picturesque backdrop, not far from the designer’s Provencal hometown, models walked down a hot pink runway, creating one of the most visually captivating spectacles of the season. It instantly cemented Simon Porte Jacquemus as one of the most Instagrammable designers of his time.
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2. Spring/Summer 2021, L'Amour at the French Vexin Regional Natural Park, Paris
A year later, Jacquemus invited a socially-distant audience to witness a 2,000-foot wooden plank runway snaking through the golden fields the French Vexin Regional Natural Park, northwest of Paris. The romantic setting complemented the collection's spirit of love despite physical distance, embracing a soothing palette of soft whites, sandy beiges, and warm yellows, in keeping with the runway presentation’s bucolic surroundings.
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3. Spring/Summer 2022, Le Splash at Moli’i Gardens beach in Oahu, Hawaii
In 2022, the designer continued his trend of serving fashion “plein air” by bringing a surprise runway to Hawaii. Models walked a cobalt runway along the water's edge on the crystalline shore of Moli’i Gardens beach in Oahu, showcasing Jacquemus' Spring/Summer collection, which featured textiles adapted from pool ready materials, including lifejackets spun into puffer vests and sorrels into leather.
4. Fall/Winter 2022, Le Papier at Aigues-Mortes, France
Jacquemus wanted a minimalist spirit, raw, poetic, and lunar, for his Fall/Winter fashion show entitled Le Papier. Staged upon the picturesque salt marshes of Aigues-Mortes in southern France, the runway itself was a mountain of Giraud salt, where models in fluid silhouettes and paper-inspired fabrics walked, dressed in white-toned designs.
5. Spring 2016 Ready-to-Wear, Le Nez Rouge at a warehouse on the outskirts of Paris, France
Le Nez Rouge may be one the designer's less spotlighted presentations, but it stands out as one of the most poignant. Held in a large warehouse in a Paris district known for its slaughterhouses, the show served as a reflection of the tragic summer following his mother's passing. Central to the presentation was a striking scene where a colossal red ball of fabric was pushed across a stark concrete floor by a barefoot child before the designer himself made a cameo, evoking an adult version of the boy, leading a white horse across the stage.
6. Spring/Summer 2023, Le Raphia in Le Bourget, France
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True to Jacquemus' tradition, the Le Raphia Spring/Summer 2023 show exemplified a dedication to craftsmanship and artisanal details. Within a vast structure of sleek white walls and airy curtains, raffia – a natural fiber native to tropical African regions – cascaded over models, animating a collection with intricate textures woven into tops, suits, and skirts.
7. Spring/Summer 2017 Les Santons de Provence at the Mucem, in Marseille, France
Jacquemus' Spring/Summer 2017 collection, titled Les Santons de Provence, was a heartfelt tribute to the designer's Provencal roots. The runway was set on the aerial footbridge linking the Mucem museum to the Place d'Armes at Fort Saint-Jean, providing panoramic views of the Mediterranean. The elevated setting lent an ethereal ambiance to the show whilst elegantly reflecting the region’s beauty through a modernisation of the traditional.
8. Fall/Winter 2023, Le ChouChou on the ground of the Palace of Versailles in France
Where better for a French fashion brand to present its wares than the Palace of Versailles, the epitome of luxury and French art de vivre. In 2023, Jacquemus invited guests to be part of a live masterpiece, seating them in quaint little boats on the Grand Canal as they admired fall designs from the Le Chouchou collection, set against the majestic backdrop of the royal residence.
9. Spring/Summer 2024 Les Sculptures at La Fondation Maeght, France
Jacquemus' Spring/Summer 2024 collection, Les Sculptures, underscored a synergy between art and fashion in the designer's approach. The presentation debuted at La Fondation Maeght, an art gallery overlooking Saint-Paul de Vence in the south of France and known for its Alberto Giacometti collection. Models graced the runway against a backdrop of these works, snaking through the building and its sculpture garden, their structured shoulders and reduced torsos echoing Giacometti's abstract forms.
10. Fall/Winter 2020 L'Année 97 at La Défense Arena in Paris, France
Presented just outside of Paris at La Défense Arena, Jacquemus' Fall/Winter 2020 collection marked a deliberate shift from the lavishness of his previous plein air presentation. Instead of lavender fields, a minimalist show space with crisp white flooring set the stage for a deeply personal collection centred around the designer's memories of L'Année 97, the year Simon Porte Jacquemus created his first design – a skirt made from curtains that he gifted to his late mother.
11. Fall/Winter 2024 La Casa at Casa Malaparte in Capri, Italy
For La Casa, his AW24 collection Jacquemus took over Casa Malaparte, the iconic modernist villa on the island of Capri, known for its appearance in Jean-Luc Godard’s 1963 film Contempt starring Brigitte Bardot. Bathed in Mediterranean sunlight, models ascended the villa's striking redbrick staircase to a rooftop patio. There, a backdrop of panoramic views over rugged landscapes and the azure sea below crafted a quintessential postcard-perfect setting, expertly curated in a way only Jacquemus knows how.
12. Fall/Winter 2025 at the 51 Rue Raynouard in Paris
Rounding up our list of Jacquemus' best shows is his latest outing, which saw the crown prince of French fashion return to Paris. And only an exceptional address would do: The faithfully preserved modernist apartment of French architect Auguste Perret and his wife Jeanne Cordeau, at 51 Rue Raynouard.
“The apartment is a masterpiece of modern architecture, an exceptional testament to the architect’s work, designed by and for himself,” read the show notes. “It is the manifesto of the greatest architectural production of the 1930s in Paris and an essential milestone in the oeuvre of Auguste Perret.” Swapping the expanse of Casa Malaparte (the terracotta-hued setting of Jacquemus' AW24 collection, La Casa) for this intimate, architectural location signalled one thing: the dawn of the new style code at the maison. And it has set up Simon Porte Jacquemus amongst the greats of French design.
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