+18 During These Grey Days, Jacquemus Brings The Sunshine
With winter here and cosy season upon us, it’s easy to forget that sometimes, at certain times of year, we do indeed like to show some skin, and not stay bundled up in at least five layers indoors.
Jacquemus reminded us of this on Monday with his ‘Raphia’ collection where literal raffia rained from the ceiling.
While normally Simon sticks to one colour and tonal dressing, this season we saw a more eclectic approach from him, with psychedelic colours in wavy formations exuding a 1970s attitude – which funnily enough ends up creating a modern look when paired with his subversive designs of crop tops, stringed items, and miniskirts.
Along with bright colours came metallics which is also a new tactic for the French designer – but done in his own way, which means painted over a cream pair of jeans or denim maxi skirt, which still manages to imbue his penchant for natural fabric and fibres.
Speaking of natural fibres, raffia was unsurprisingly very present, from humongous daisy earrings to fringing on shirt hems and cuffs to a voluminous coat made out of the fern. I’ll take it thank you, although with my height it might make me look like I’m trying to camouflage myself in the fields to spy on hot, working farmer boys. Maybe I’ll leave it to the runway, then.
Jacquemus does like to play with coverage, so not only did we see tiny miniskirts paired with crop tops that most women’s breasts would tumble out of the bottom of, we also saw the brand’s classic oversized 2-piece suits, along with oversized hats. Finding his middle ground, Simon seemed to have a fascination with A-line silhouettes this season, showcasing several that emphasised the collection’s nostalgic inspiration of late ‘60s Italian dressing in Portofino and Capri. Can’t you see those Italian cinema stars now?
Weaving and fringing played a huge part in this season, with not only straw hats being woven, but leather too, and not only raffia being fringed, but fabric too. We know that weaving has had a major comeback, especially with Bottega Veneta’s intrecciato coming back in full force since Daniel Lee resurrected the brand. Kim Jones just showed his Dior menswear show in Egypt with handcrafted woven baskets as backpacks; here Simon makes the most of this new trend through aligning with his love for the natural world and craftsmanship combined.
Signing off: also, as a shell girl, did you really think I would miss the cowrie shell earrings? Oh, please… You know I’ll be first in line to shop them. But I’ve been burned by runway accessorizing before (see Fendi A/W 2022 lily hair clips), and am ready to make my own if they never end up being sold.
I’ve collated my favourite looks above…
Are you ready to roll in the hay, yet?