San Francisco Frontiers - Jacquemus brings stars and surrealism to Provence

Simon Porte Jacquemus, the 34-year-old darling of the French fashion scene, recently faced the first major turbulence in his career after the sudden departure of his CEO, Bastien Daguzan, last month.

But he declared himself "relaxed, and exactly where I want to be" after his latest show in Provence in southern France.

Held among the post-modernist artworks of the Maeght Foundation, it was a more sober and elegant collection than his previous sunny shows in the region's lavender fields or the salt marshes of the Camargue.

There were no more than three colours on display on the models, who included Gigi Hadid and Emily Ratajkowski: black and white, with recurring flashes of bright red.

The collection, titled "Sculptures", mixed simple, elegant designs with touches of surrealism like exaggerated sleeves and rounded shoulders, or waistlines and collars jutting out to the side.

There were references to the artists around the room: a leather jacket inspired by one belonging to sculptor Alberto Giacometti, a bag following the curves of Henry Moore.

An ecstatic-looking Julia Roberts declared it all "stunning" when asked by AFP -- about as much as celebrities tend to give on the sidelines of fashion shows.

Professional social media user Kylie Jenner (and her 399 million Instagram subscribers) was also present, alongside five-year-old daughter Stormi.

Jacquemus likes to play the fashion game according to his own timetable, presenting outside the official Paris Fashion Week and inviting his VIP guests to a luxury farmhouse for a glitzy dinner afterwards.

Launched in 2009, the independent label has seen rapid growth thanks in large part to the founder's canny social media presence -- all smiles and warmth, in contrast to the icy elitism of many of his peers.

The company has only one store, on Avenue Montaigne in Paris, and does not publish its results, though it told the Business of Fashion news site that revenues surpassed 200 million euros ($216 million) in 2022 and it was aiming for half a billion by 2025.

The heart of Jacquemus's business remains handbags, particularly the made-to-be-viral, eight-centimetre-long micro-bag called the "Chiquito", in which it would be hard to store enough cash to pay for it at around 600 euros.

This time, the star was the flat-toed "Zizi", a cross between a dance shoe and a brogue made in collaboration with Repetto.

W.Carter--SFF