Lunch with Simon Porte Jacquemus

As well as being the youngest designer ever to show at Paris Fashion Week, Simon Porte Jacquemus is what you might call a golden boy. At the tender age of 25, his lively blue eyes and spontaneous attitude are a breath of fresh air, much like his collections. Jacquemus is synonymous with play and youth, but above all, it is a brand that clearly has few preconceptions and superstructures. It is irrelevant whether his aesthetic is new, old, innovative or traditional. What counts is that looking at and wearing Simon’s creations makes you smile. We meet at Chez Janou, a French restaurant where Simon often lunches. After a glass of Pastis, we start our conversation.

FF

The first memory I have of you is a Facebook message you sent me in Italian to let me know about your work. It was very direct and honest and it impressed me, then you were super nice so we started chatting. I actually really like that kind of approach.
SPJ

I was 19 and I just thought I’ve got nothing to lose so I’m going to ask people to look at my book again and again, and I was like “Hello, I’m Simon, I’m 19, this is my first collection, have a look. Bisous!” I like that we are here together today, there’s something fun and beautiful about that.
FF

What I really like about you is how young and carefree you are. I want to know how it all began and how you found yourself in Paris, designing beautiful clothes…
SPJ

When I arrived in Paris, I was 18 and I didn’t really know who I was. I was in the midst of these new Parisians: IT-boy and countryside boy at the same time and I was a bit lost. Two months after I moved to Paris I lost my mother and it changed my life. It actually changed my life in a positive way, I decided to create my brand and name it after my mother and it was really spontaneous. That’s how I grew, that’s how it all started, without any conscious decisions about the business or anything… just spontaneously.
FF

So due to the loss of your mum, you found yourself placing value on life at a very young age, you felt the need to live your life to the maximum!
SPJ

Yeah, exactly. It may seems a cliché, but really you never know when life can stop so you need to do what you want to do in the time you have, in the present. It took a bit of inner strength, but I decided “Ok, I’m ready to do it.”
FF

What happened next?
SPJ

I went back to Paris. I was a good student at fashion school but I quit when I lost my mother. After that I was assistant to an art director at a magazine but I didn’t really enjoy it, I was a bit bored and six months later I started my brand. How? I bought some fabric and I went to a seamstress. So I was like “Ok, how much for a straight skirt?” She answered “100 Euro.” So I came back with the fabric and I was immediately a very minimalist designer because pockets were expensive!
FF

So at the beginning this minimalist style was a smart way to save money?
SPJ

Yes, it was about that too. I like minimalism and I like uniform shapes and pragmatism but it was also about saving money. That’s how I started: one collection and a website I created myself. I published it on my Facebook page and then I got a call from a magazine saying they liked the collection and asking if they could write about me. So then I had my first article.
FF

Who was the first important person that believed in your work?
SPJ

I guess it was Loïc Prigent. After perhaps my second or third collection. The second was Adrien Joffe. These were probably the two most important people in the Jacquemus affaire.
FF

Tell me about your world. You have loads of inspiring references…
SPJ

The first thing to mention is that I am obsessed with French references, it could be fashion but it could be anything really.
FF

Yeah, you can tell by the girls you choose for pictures or shows actually. They are so French!
SPJ

Oh, thank you. Yeah I try to have this French spirit, but, careful, I mean French not Parisian. It’s this kind of aesthetic that comes from films, a lot of Eighties films. You know, when I was younger I wanted to make fashion but I also wanted to make films. I wasn’t like “Ok, I want to be Gaultier.” I always wanted to create specific moments for a girl, a character more than a clothing line.
FF

Yeah, I see so much of La Boum and other French movies that were really famous in Italy during the Eighties; I think Italy and France share a lot of cinematographic references. And what about the south of France? What is your link with it?
SPJ

It’s more to do with the light, because there is a lot of sun in Jacquemus in general. It’s hard to explicitly say “Hey! I’m from the south of France” so it’s more about the mood. The collection is a French girl that comes from the south of France who is very simple and naïve but then… it could be a lot of things.
FF

Yes of course, how do you find the girls that are part of your projects?
SPJ

They are often friends of mine or friends of friends, you know it’s very natural, it’s never through an agency really, except in my show now. In the show there are some agency girls, but I still also have two friends in my show so it’s good to keep that going.

FF

Have you ever thought of moving elsewhere? Like going to London, or going to NY, or do you think that your work is too related to where you live and you’re being French to go somewhere?
SPJ

Yes, but I don’t know… Because my mind might be everywhere but I’m French and I’m so happy to be French that I want to stay here for a while. The French press has helped me a lot, it’s incredible. They always say France doesn’t help young designers but the French press was amazing with me.
FF

Well, your work is worth it. It’s not easy to bring a designer into the spotlight but if that designer does a good job, does something different, it’s easier…
SPJ

Yeah it was a good job and it was a big story, and it’s really something when you have your first show at 21. You know I was the youngest designer to ever show during Paris fashion week?
Waiter comes to take orders.
W

What would you like to order?
SPJ

For me, the daube de boeuf à la provencale (provencal beef stew, ed.) with some tagliatelle.
FF

And for me the foie de veau aux pommes (veal liver with apples, ed.). You know Italians find it very weird to have pasta as a side dish?
SPJ

Oh really? With meat? Why?
FF

I don’t know, although you’re having it with a sort of ragù here. But pasta should never be served plain, it always has a sauce... So what are your thoughts on Italy? I heard from some mutual friends that you love Palermo…
SPJ

Ah yes, Palermo is a little like Marseilles for me, there is a certain energy…
FF

I had the same feeling when I went to Marseilles, they are very similar. Marseilles is more of a melting pot than Palermo though.
SPJ

I used to love being on top of a big building in Palermo with the beautiful views.
FF

Did you used to live there?
SPJ

No, I was just on holiday. But that was a long time ago now. I really want to go back, I always say that! I want to go back to Palermo.
FF

Well, you must be pretty busy nowadays…
SPJ

But if I want to find the time I will find the time! For Palermo! I’ll let you know…
FF

So how is everything now? You are getting a lot of extremely good reviews and interviews…
SPJ

And the best stockists too. Now we have 80 shops, really good ones such as Corso Como 10, La Garçonne online... So the next step is department stores, but that’s a big next step and it’s not easy.
FF

Of course, but still… I’m 28 and I still consider myself young too to have a magazine, etc. but you are 24 and I’ve never seen anything quite like your situation in fashion, not recently, maybe Jonathan Anderson, but he started quite some time ago and he’s only just getting the attention he deserves.
SPJ

Oh I didn’t know he started so young. That’s good!
FF

Yes, that’s what I find most interesting when you find talent at such a young age.
SPJ

Do you think so? But I’m going to be 25 soon.
FF

So what, you feel like you’re pushing 30? No, it’s me that’s almost 30!
Laughter
SPJ

Maybe you don’t see it but for me, in my mind, I want to say something different now, I think I’ve grown up a bit, you know… The colours, the stripes, I wanted something more.
FF

It is still so much fun when you go to a show and you are amused by it and it gives you something, whether it’s an emotion or just a smile. It’s like a performance, it’s something that happens very rarely nowadays – everyone is doing the same stuff over and over again. But it’s just the best when you have fun in fashion!
SPJ

Yeah, I always try to have a good spirit and pass that on to my audience.
FF

I’ve read somewhere that every time you make a collection you also think about a film you would make, right? How does that work?
SPJ

Because I’m not strong enough just to make clothes, I have to have a real story. I get bored if I just try to make clothes. I’d be bored after a day. I don’t want to do clothes, you know, I don’t like it, sorry! As far as I’m concerned, my job is to tell a story.
FF

So you want to tell a story about your vision… That’s interesting. Well you are doing it, aside the collections, you have your side projects such as the video and book you did in La Grande-Motte with photographer Bertrand Le Pluard…
SPJ

Yes, I felt really close to Bertrand’s vision. I’d really love all collections to include one object, it might be a book, a perfume or a little bag… But can we talk about an Italian film now?
FF

Yes, sure!
SPJ

It’s about how I see my life and it’s my favourite movie, it’s called Respiro, with Valeria Golino…
FF

Of course! I love it! It’s by a very talented Italian director, Crialese, and set on Lampedusa, my favourite island.
SPJ

Yes, exactly. I’ve never been there…
FF

Well the town is nothing special, just your average seaside town with no special charm, but the sea takes your breath away. There’s the desert and then promontories overlooking the sea, and wonderful beaches where turtles go to spawn, it’s fantastic! So beautiful… Anyway, I’m surprised, it’s a bit of a niche film and not many people know it.
SPJ

Oh yeah, I know! Sometimes I speak to Italians and they’ve never heard of it, I always talk about this film… and then there’s Terraferma too, but Respiro is the best.

FF

What is your favourite thing to do in your free time?
SPJ

I love dancing, but I don’t know… I never go to museums, I am more into going antiquing, I love that – I could go every day. I think I’m going to do Jacquemus furniture too. I’m obsessed with it, I’ve got so many projects like that. Ever since I was a little boy I wanted to be a stylist, a dancer, an actor and a singer, and I always thought I’d do it! I don’t want to wait to be a big success in fashion. Why do we have to wait in life? If you feel it then you should do it!
FF

So maybe you’ll wake up one day and say “I don’t want to do fashion anymore and I want to be an actor”, and you will?
SPJ

Yeah, because that’s exactly who I am.
FF

You are a free person.
SPJ

Yeah, free, free, I like that! Free like Valeria!
Laughter
FF

You said you love dancing. Where do you go dancing in Paris?
SPJ

Friends’ places, there aren’t that many club in Paris.
FF

I love house parties, they are the best, mostly because you can play what you want, when you want.
SPJ

What about Milano fashion week?
FF

Aaah… You don’t want to talk about that.
SPJ

Why? Italians love fashion so much, I don’t understand!
FF

I don’t know really. I think it’s so old it stinks. Of course there are exceptions, like the fashion ‘giants’ or perhaps younger designers such as Marco De Vincenzo or Arthur Arbesser. But Milano is too commercial, it’s more about money and façade than real talent. There is hardly any support for young designers and nobody really cares, even the Italian press is very snobby.
SPJ

But that’s stupid, because the young talents are the future. And It’s good for the big brands to have all the good journalists coming to fashion week as well.
FF

The sad thing is that now people only come for three days…
SPJ

I know and everyone complains. I always hear people saying “Yeah, I go there for money”.
FF

Yes, it’s very commercial. Imagine what it’s like having an independent magazine in a city like that, but at least it’s challenging!
SPJ

In some ways it’s good because things can change. In Paris we have so many independent magazines…
FF

Yes you do have a lot, but I think even Paris is still very bourgeois in a way, although I do think it is changing and moving on. And you are the living proof that this is happening…
SPJ

Yes, there weren’t a lot of independent brands at Paris Fashion Week.
FF

Are you completely independent?
SPJ

Yes, which gets pretty complicated when you have 80 stockists.
FF

So it’s all about selling?
SPJ

Yeah, what is beautiful is that when it comes to business it’s not just about the press, it’s crazy because I pay for the whole collection with the money I’ve put aside from the previous ones, so it’s quite correct in a way.
FF

I have to say I am shocked that you are independent, I hadn’t …
SPJ

There are so many business strategies behind Jacquemus, it’s not just ‘smiling in the sun’.
Laughter
SPJ

Like I told you, for example, the pocket details... it was really good for me to learn how much it costs to make clothes, I know exactly how much all my clothes cost and that’s a good starting point – being aware of what you’re doing, even from an economic point of view.
FF

Yes, that definitely gives you a very precise idea of what you are doing. So what’s next? Are you planning something special for the coming months?
SPJ

I want to do my first pre-collection. Everybody is saying it’s not the right time because we are still a small team and it’s hard, because it’s about showing the production as well as the collection. But I didn’t question myself when I was 19, I just said we were going to do it and then we did it so, let’s do it!

FF

How many people works in Jacquemus now?
SPJ

There are five of us in every day, plus two or three interns. But that’s not really enough for the business we have, we need double the staff: one person for production, one person for research, one person in charge of everything there is to do!
FF

Where do you produce?
SPJ

Paris, the south of France, and our jeans in Tunisia because there are no jean factories in France. You can find people making knits, but it’s expensive. It’s tricky actually because you still want to make everything in France but it’s expensive so what you do is, you make it and send it to the shop but then people don’t buy it because it’s too expensive.
FF

Well, Tunisia is a bit French.
Laughter
SPJ

Thank you! It’s a bit Marseille, yeah. Anyway, one day I want to make a film. It’s in my mind! I don’t know how I can I translate the Jacquemus spirit into a film, I don’t know if I’m good enough to write stories.
FF

Like a script? You don’t see yourself doing that?
SPJ

I don’t think so, sometimes a lot of people fall in love with a story they read and they make it real. It’s good but it’s your own vision of the story… Let’s see! So many projects!
FF

Do you want a coffee?
SPJ

I think a saw a desert in the menu, some chocolate…
FF

Ok! Do you like deserts?
SPJ

Yeah! A lot!
FF

Do you cook? Be honest…
SPJ

Eggs.
Laughter
SPJ

Eggs? And that’s it?
Dessert arrives
Simon shows me a little heart he carries with him
SPJ

It’s the only thing I kept of my mother’s, I always have it with me. I was a really unique little boy. I would totally rearrange the house when my mother went to the supermarket and she was like “Simon are you crazy? What is this?” In some ways I suppose people always expected something artistic from me. I was also an advanced classical dancer when I was young and I swear everyone expected me to go on a reality show.
FF

Yeah like my grandmother always used to tell me I should go on Miss Italia! Just because I was tall and thin, but I would never have done it. For very old-fashioned southern people like my grandmother, Miss Italia is the best thing you can do with your life!
SPJ

Aw but Miss Italia is cute actually. I love Miss France, it’s always so funny!
FF

I’ve seen it, it’s a lot of fun, I watch it especially when I’m with my family. It’s something we love to watch together, like music festivals, like Sanremo, I love it!
SPJ

Sanremo! Laura Pausini and Nek!
Laughter
FF

Oh my god, how do you know about Nek?
SPJ

(Singing) Laura non c’e, è andata via Laura non è più cosa mia…
Laughter
SPJ

He was very popular in France.
FF

He was big in Italy, I was in primary school, maybe 8 or 9 years old, and the song La Solitudine was huge, I used to write the lyrics on my diary…
SPJ

Me too!
Laughter
FF

I don’t think this is trashy culture, I think it’s related to tradition.
SPJ

No, it’s not trashy, it’s folk music almost.
FF

Which is very different.
Simon’s assistant asks if we’re done, it’s late and he has work to do at the office.
FF

Well, I think we are done, we’ve said everything we possibly could have during a first lunch together!
SPJ

Wow! I didn’t realize it was so late! That was really nice.
FF

That’s the best thing about these interviews – they surprise me every time.