Simplicity Says It Best
Review of Jacquemus Spring 2026 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Humble beginnings, purity of cotton, simplicity of shape
There is a lot to play for in the space that sits just below bespoke, and the couture calendar could always make room for some fresh blood, as it has done in recent years with Chinese designer Robert Wun and Indian designer Gaurav Gupta.
The title of todays show, revealed as ‘La Paysan’ or The Peasant in French, came from an obsession the designer spoke to on his Instagram account, of the photos he has kept which trace his family’s rural history and his desire to give his grandparents their flowers while they are still here. In another social media teaser the designer paid homage to his family’s humble beginnings in the Provence countryside, with then and now shots harvesting fruit and vegetables, the addition of the head scarves he would have likely seen the women of his family wear to work the land and the crisp cottons worn by his parents and grandparents. In bringing these images to light he said “ I wanted to pay homage to the past to create something new for the future. This show is a thank you to them.” The lifestyle of the peasant was also honoured in the head scarf accessories, cool cotton and linen dresses, and the whimsical addition of vegetable references appearing to link the shows location (the Orangerie) and create a thread from his past to his present.
Positioning his shows to once again align with the current fashion week schedule, as well as a few days before the actual couture season starts is genius. As presenting on the last day of Paris men’s allowed for an easy corralling of the fashion press, without the resistance they may have otherwise encountered following four weeks on the road during the women’s season.
Settling on a location as grand-standing as his fall 2025 collection was set to be, a trip to the outskirts of Paris and the Palace of Versailles was in order, which was also a homecoming of sorts, as the designer had already shown in its grounds in 2023. Taking place in the Orangerie, with the long hall serving as runway the opening look merged Jacquemus 1.0 and 2.0 as a simple shirt dress, slightly skewed and given a dramatic lift with a voluminous underskirt created by layers of gathered cotton fabric. Reminiscent of his fall, and summer, 2017 Provençal meets Paris couture collection (today’s show invitations were crisp white scarfs monogrammed with a simple ‘J’) there was a definite sharpening up of ideas this time around which paid homage to a childhood and growing up in the countryside. What he also pulled from this style of simple dressing was the prominence of a full-skirted silhouette. Accounting for almost 70% of the collection it felt like a throwback to the great dressmakers, from Charles James to Christian Dior, but a little subversion was still left in the designer as the front view leant itself to a classic ladylike design, but as some of the models backs came into view it became clear that only the front part of the skirt had been constructed, with modesty maintained through longline tops at the back. The simplicity of poplin cotton was the focus, as a mainstay worn by his mother and grandmother growing up, he transformed it through geometric forms from squares to circles and triangles, culminating in smock dresses, graphic striped tunics, ovoid sculpted blazers. Even the humble scarf was a hidden triangle. Today, simplicity said sophistication as the designer took from past collections and reinterpreted them through his current lens to create a collection paying homage to a boy who dared to dream.
THE DIRECTION
THE QUOTE
I want to create an autobiographical journey for June: one that begins in the countryside, soft and minimal, with linen as the foundation. From there, it gradually transforms, blossoming into an explosion of bonbon hues, stripes, embroidery, and prints. Various colours emerge, all connected, culminating in a look that is totally couture.
Simon Porte Jacquemus, creative director, Jacquemus
THE WRAP UP
The ‘Couturification’ of the Jacquemus brand rolls on unabated, as the designer appears determined to drive his brand perception in an upward trajectory, but where will this leave his loyal customer base of the young and free who have always looked to him to provide all their Saint Tropez Summer wardrobe solutions? A quick guess at the strategy being employed at Jacquemus HQ would suggest that, since restructuring over the last year, they needed to ensure the current rate of sales would hold steady over the long term. Especially considering, as that particular party girl ages out of the lifestyle, will she continue to invest in the brand?. So, projecting into the future, the new management team will have crunched the numbers and just as 2+2 makes 4, the 1% made the most sense as the next consumer group to target. Yet, on further inspection of the e-commerce site core fans have nothing to fear, bandeau dresses and Bambino bags can be found in abundance, so this appears to be purely a marketing play to take us on Jacquemus’ coming of age journey, which if successful will have mothers and daughters soon claiming the brand as their own.
