by Simon Porte Jacquemus, the 34-year-old founder and designer of the French fashion house Jacquemus, was awarded the Couture Council’s 2024 Award for the Art of Fashion on Wednesday.
The annual luncheon, held at the David H. Koch Theater in New York, heralds the arrival of New York Fashion Week, with proceeds benefiting the Museum at FIT, the only museum in New York dedicated to exclusive to the art of fashion. The money will go towards developing exhibitions, programs and symposiums, all of which are free and open to the public. More than $700,000 was raised.
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Joyce F. Brown, president of FIT, said, “The Jacquemus line is innovative, contemporary and passionate design. Simon weaves poetry into each creation and infuses them with fun and sunny expressions of French fashion and lifestyle. And on top of that, the path he has created as a young designer who set out on his own with few resources and many great ideas is a real inspiration for our students who are finding their own creative way.”
For the fifth year in a row, Nordstrom – which that day revealed plans to go private – sponsored the luncheon, and Pete Nordstrom, president and chief brand officer of Nordstrom, said, “This event is a great way to kick off add to the fall. fashion season and all the excitement it brings to the industry.”
Trying to pronounce Jacquemus’ full name, Nordstrom said, “My two years in junior high French didn’t pay off.”
He noted that Nordstrom has done business with Jacquemus since 2017. In fact, on Wednesday, Nordstrom opened a temporary store for the brand at the men’s store in New York City that will be open through the end of the month. The store’s main floor space marks the first time Jacquemus has partnered with a US retailer on a standalone store. The store features the fall 2024 men’s collection, La Casa, as well as a select range of women’s accessories and ready-to-wear pieces, as reported.
Speaking of retail, Jacquemus told the crowd that he is excited to open his first freestanding store in the US at 147 Spring Street in SoHo. He said the store should open around October 18, and invited everyone to come and visit.
Accepting his award, Jacquemus said he started in the business at the age of 19, and was “so obsessed with fashion”. He wanted to tell a story, engage people and make people dream. “No one in my family ever told me that fashion was impossible, even though my background was almost surreal. Everyone told me, ‘It was possible, you’re going to do it,’” he said.
The designer said that Jacquemus and America can make such a strong love story. “There is nothing greater than happiness, it is a luxury in our lives,” he said.
“Since the beginning of the Jacquemus brand, young women have been attracted to the playful, naive and sometimes surreal minimalism…,” said Valerie Steele, director and chief curator, The Museum at FIT. “Beyond his role as a fashion designer — a self-taught fashion designer — he found his calling as a creative director, an image maker known for his extraordinary visual messages, which are emotional messages. Everywhere we see his love for fashion, for artistic culture – for people.”
Jacquemus founded his eponymous brand in 2009, dedicating it to his late mother. His ready-to-wear and accessories are inspired by his passion for art and the decorative arts, and his collections for women and men refer to French culture and universal gestures of beauty from fine arts, photography, painting and the sculpture. The designer is known for his provocative approach to fashion shows and theatrical runway productions that took place in unexpected places such as a swimming pool in Paris or inside the Musee Picasso, winding through a lavender field in Provence or a wheat field outside Paris.
Among those who attended the luncheon were Christian Cowan, Alina Cho, Ken Downing, Douglas Hand, Yaz Hernandez, Julie Macklowe, Fern Mallis, B. Michael, Liz Peek, Kara Ross, Marina Larroude, Hal Rubenstein, Lauren Santo Domingo, Jean Shafiroff, Ramona Singer, Joan Hornig, Pamela Newkirk, Dr. Amelia Ogunlesi, Stefano Tonchi and Rickie de Sole.
Couture Council board members Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz, the founding editor in chief of Vogue Arabia and founder of D’NA, and Sarah Wetenhall, president and owner of The Colony Palm Beach, co-chaired the luncheon.
The FIT Museum Student Award was presented to Patrick Garry, an art history and museum major at FIT.
The winners of the Couture Council Award for Formerly Fashion Artist. Kors, Oscar de la Renta, Valentino, Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel, Dries Van Noten, Isabel Toledo, Alber Elbaz and FIT graduate Ralph Rucci.
Launch Gallery: Simon Porte Jacquemus Honored by the Museum Couture Council at FIT
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