JACQUEMUS
MADDIE GREEN VISUAL COMMUNICATION BRAND AUDIT FASM440-01
BRAND OVERVIEW “My name is Simon. I love blue and white, stripes, the sun, fruit, curves, life, Marseille and the 1980’s” Simon Porte Jacquemus started the brand in 2009 at just 19 years old, shortly after the passing of his mother. She was Simon’s main source of inspiration for fashion, and thus named his collection after her maiden name. His brand reflects the two extremes of his life: his fashionable Parisian tastes and his laid back, Provencal lifestyle. His woman is young, sexy, and doesn’t take anything in life too seriously. His contemporary price point and lifestyle proposition makes the brand attainable and attractive to young millennial women. Simon is currently still in charge of all visual merchandising, advertising campaigns, and art direction for his brand. Perhaps it’s because of this that he is able to create such a clear story throughout his digital channels, but his store spaces struggle to get his message through.
“Everything was telling a story of this French girl—not the Parisian girl but the French girl.” - Simon Porte Jacquemus
DIGITAL PRESENCE INSTAGRAM
WEBSITE
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CAMPAIGN VIDEOS
INSTAGRAM “At the beginning, when I had no money to make clothes that were really precise, the storytelling was stronger than the clothing,� - Simon Porte Jacquemus
There is no-one better to run the Jacquemus Instagram than the man himself, Simon Porte Jacquemus. Currently, the Jacquemus Instagram page has 739k followers with an average of 40k likes per post, which is a high percentage of engagement when compared to other luxury brands. The secret to the success of the account is owed to him and his ability to create a curated page of models, personal photos, and lifestyle images from Provence that are able to perfectly capture and tell the brand story. The image he creates is captivating and aspirational, while still seeming attainable and real.
WEBSITE
WEBSITE Jacquemus.com is a space for selling and promoting the brand. The use of color on the site reflects his collections and the product merchandising is clean and simple, emphasizing his designs. The site also acts as a brand collective, with archives of past collections, events, and inspiration for Simon. This addition allows customers not only the ability to shop the site, but also to get a better understanding of and connection with the products and designer.
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ADVERTISEMENTS “Yeah. I always remember that, when I want to wear something, I don’t want to wear something because I’m attracted by the clothes—[it’s about] their world, the message, the philosophy around it. So it’s important to me to communicate this kind of naïveté.” - Simon Porte Jacquemus With his advertisements, Jacquemus spends more energy shaping his brand image than he does trying to sell clothes. If people knew and understood his world, message, and philosophy that would be enough for him. The clothes come second. These primary colored ads give off the playful feel of the brand more successfully than a product image ever could.
VIDEO
VIDEO: LA BOMBA
VIDEO: JACQUEMUS x OPENMYMED
PROMOTIONAL VIDEOS These videos are captivating and successful in capturing the energy of Simon’s collections. That South of France feel paired with Parisian elegance is evident in both Marseille Je T’aime and La Bomba. Their presentation on Vimeo, YouTube, and Instagram allows for a great deal of promotion and ties them in with the brand image perfectly. “The energy is the most important thing, not the rest. You can have a million and put a million in clothes, if you have nothing to say and no heart inside and no energy, it will be nothing,” - Simon Porte Jacquemus
ON-GROUND EVENTS
RUNWAY
BOUTIQUES
CONCLUSION
EVENTS: MARSEILLE JE T’AIME
MARSEILLE JE T’AIME “Marseille Je T’aime” was an event produced by the Maison Méditerranéenne des Métiers de la Mode (MMMM), with Simon Porte Jacquemus as their honored guest for the 7th edition of #OpenMyMed festival. The event, split between the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations (MuCEM) and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MAC) in Marseille in 2017, was a mix of three exhibitions, a fashion show, and an art book, all curated by Simon, that were dedicated to showcasing the beauty of southern France. Contemporary artists, photographers, and painters in conjunction with his fashion and Instagram content (he had a digital wall in the museum dedicated to his Instagram) came together to make a strong brand statement for Jacquemus while also celebrating France’s creative talent.
RUNWAY
RUNWAY: “MARSEILLE JE T’AIME” / “LES SANTONS DE PROVENCE”
RUNWAY Jacquemus runway shows are vibrant stages for his collections, and are nothing short of extravagant. From warehouses to palaces to beaches in the South of France, Jacquemus is willing to go anywhere in search of a space for his grand events. The scale of his ideas works hand-in-hand with event designer Alexandre de Betak, who has produced a number of shows for the designer.
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BOUTIQUES Jacquemus boutiques are more underwhelming than the collections and curated digital media. The harsh concrete and metals used in the displays contrast greatly with the softness of the clothes and the warm aura of the South of France. It’s the antithesis of his playful attitude. A possible reason for this disconnect is that there is no brand flagship to serve as inspiration for the boutiques. While the boutique method of selling works for his French aesthetic, he loses control of his merchandising and one can sense the disconnect. Jacquemus should open a flagship store of their own in Paris and have Simon design it to fix this gap in their storytelling. He has contemplated it in the past, saying “If I wanted a shop in Marais with parquet and rails, I could do that tomorrow... But I will do it as I always dreamed to. Of course, I want the brand to have its own shop, but the answer is really to be happy.” The time to open that store is now.
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CONCLUSION Simon’s influence over visual merchandising, art direction, and advertising campaigns works to the brand’s advantage. The control makes for a comprehensive brand story over all channels and through events, making sure that his voice is evident regardless of the project. However, when Simon loses control of the way his story is told, the brand message gets lost. In brick and mortar spaces controlled by small boutiques or large department stores, the Jacquemus label isn’t allowed as much space and context to sell the story. It’s a wonder that he hasn’t come out with a brick and mortar store of his own where he can fully shine with his brand.
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SOURCES https://www.jacquemus.com https://www.vogue.com/article/simon-porte-jacquemus-interview-vogue-february-2018-issue https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/07/t-magazine/simon-porte-jacquemus-style-profile.html# https://www.businessoffashion.com/community/people/simon-porte-jacquemus https://www.elle.com/uk/fashion/longform/a32882/simon-porte-jacquemus/ https://wwd.com/fashion-news/designer-luxury/10-of-tomorrow-designer-simon-porte-jacquemus-10315119/ https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/intelligence/jacquemus-bigger-than-you-think http://www.mucem.org/en/jacquemus-images http://www.m-mmm.fr/Actualites/Jacquemus-et-OpenMyMed-au-Mucem-Marseille-je-t-aime-Images http://www.chutmonsecret.com/2017/05/simon-porte-jacquemus-marseille-taime/ http://www.musemagazine.it/marseille-je-taime/