The cocktail is magical.
An azure sky, umbrella pines and works of art as far as the eye can see: the Maeght Foundation near Saint-Paul-de-Vence concentrates the spirit of an ultimate art of living, entirely dedicated to beauty.
It is in this legendary place, which houses the works of some of the most important artists of the 20th century (Joan Miró, Alexander Calder, Georges Braque...), that Simon Porte Jacquemus wanted to present his Sculptures collection, immediately available in shop.
“I am obsessed with design,” emphasizes the designer, born in the south of France.
I wanted to show a collection that tells the story of who I am today, what I love, what I am passionate about,” explains the designer.
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Jacquemus parade “The Sculptures” in Saint-Paul-de-Vence
In images, in pictures
See the slideshow47 photos
See the slideshow47 photos
Humor and sophistication
The starting point of this Sculptures collection?
The works of the artist Alberto Giacometti, famous for his bronzes of slender men and women who seem to capsize in space.
The Jacquemus silhouettes have the same tapered, tapered, slender profile, dressed in long black dresses that follow their shapes, like a pencil line drawn between the ground and the sky.
But there is nothing fragile or unreal about them.
“When I started working on this collection I had two opposing ideas in mind: Giacometti's sculptures... and bourgeois clichés.
I wanted to bring these two worlds together.”
With humor, Simon Porte Jacquemus transforms these “sculpture silhouettes” into bourgeois women from the nice neighborhoods who advance with their tops draped like sweaters tied on their shoulders, a great bourgeois cliché par excellence.
They wear strict suits that are disrupted by two-tone shoes or double shoes for a surreal touch.
They wear cream coats with rounded sleeves and XXL collars like the look worn by Gigi Hadid at the opening of the show.
They parade in evening dresses embroidered with very couture twirling silk threads, called “ponytails”.
“I imagined a woman who goes horse riding, that’s why she wears leggings, high boots and carries her bag like a horse riding bomb,” continues the designer.
“There is something apparently quite cold in this look with these closed shirt collars, but very quickly everything becomes more solar, more sensual, more “Jacquemus”.”
The bride perfectly sums up this marriage of opposites: sculptural with this custom-made bust molded to the body, plunging backless and traditional veil.
The wedding dress at the Jacquemus “Les Sculptures” fashion show in Saint-Paul-de-Vence.
(Maeght Foundation, January 29, 2024.) Photo: Umberto Fratini / Gorunway.com
Kylie Jenner and Julia Roberts as guest stars
This precise, very accurate collection, probably one of the designer's most successful and accomplished, is aimed at an accomplished woman more than a young woman in the making.
“It’s true, it’s not the silhouette of a young girl as I have been able to offer in my other collections,” he confirms.
I wanted to offer a new sensuality, that of a more mature woman, who would have grown up with me.
I've been doing this job for fifteen years and it's time to think about the brand in the long term, to talk to both our young customers and those who have evolved with us."
This intention was also reflected in the choice of guests since alongside the Gen Z star, Kylie Jenner who came with her 5-year-old daughter Stormi (but also her 399 million followers on Instagram), Jacquemus had invited representatives of another generation, Kristin Davis (Charlotte York in
Sex & the City
) and the ultra-rare Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts.
In video, Julia Roberts, Kylie Jenner...the front row of the Jacquemus fashion show in Saint-Paul-de-Vence