Simon Porte Jacquemus, the 34-year-old founder and designer of French fashion house Jacquemus, on Wednesday was awarded the 2024 Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion.
The annual luncheon, which took place 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 exclusively to the art of fashion. Proceeds will go toward development exhibitions, programming and symposia, all of which are free and open to the public. More than $700,000 was raised.
Joyce F. Brown, president of FIT, said, “The Jacquemus line is the embodiment of innovative, contemporary and passionate design. Simon weaves poetry into each creation and infuses them with playful and sun-drenched expressions of French fashion and lifestyle. And beyond that, the path that he has forged as a young designer who set out on his own with few resources and many grand ideas, is truly an inspiration for our students who are finding their own creative way.”
For the fifth consecutive year, Nordstrom — which that very day revealed plans to go private — was the luncheon’s sponsor, and Pete Nordstrom, president and chief brand officer of Nordstrom, said, “This event is such a great way to kick off the fall fashion season and all the excitement that brings to the industry.”
In trying to pronounce Jacquemus’ full name, Nordstrom quipped, “My two years of junior high French have not paid off.”
He noted that Nordstrom has done business with Jacquemus since 2017. In fact, on Wednesday, Nordstrom opened a temporary boutique for the brand at its men’s store in New York City that will be open through the end of the month. The space on the store’s main floor marks the first time Jacquemus has partnered with a U.S. retailer on a standalone boutique. The shop features the fall 2024 men’s collection, La Casa, along with a select assortment of women’s accessories and ready-to-wear pieces, as reported.
And speaking of retailing, Jacquemus told the crowd that he’s excited to open his first freestanding store in the U.S. at 147 Spring Street in SoHo. He said the store should open around Oct. 18, and invited everyone to come visit.
In accepting his award, Jacquemus said he started in the business at 19 years old, 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 fashion was impossible, even though my background was almost surrealistic. Everyone told me, ‘It was possible, you’re going to make it,’” he said.
The designer said that Jacquemus and America can do such a strong love story. “There is nothing more than happiness, it’s a luxury of our world,” he said.
“From the beginning of the Jacquemus brand, young women have been attracted by its fun, 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 vocation as a creative director, an image-maker known for his extraordinary visual messaging which is an emotional messaging. Everywhere we see his love of fashion, art culture — of people.”
Jacquemus established 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 reference French culture and universal gestures of beauty from fine art, photography, painting and sculpture. The designer is known for his provocative approach to fashion shows and theatrical runway productions that have taken place in unexpected locations such as a Parisian swimming pool or inside the Musee Picasso, winding through a lavender field in Provence or a wheat field outside of Paris.
Among those attending 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 of director members Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz, founding editor in chief of Vogue Arabia and founder of D’NA, and Sarah Wetenhall, president and owner of The Colony Palm Beach, were the luncheon’s co-chairs.
Patrick Garry, an art history and museum professions major at FIT, was presented the Museum of FIT Student Award.
Previous recipients of the Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion are Gabriela Hearst, Maria Grazia Chiuri of Dior, Wes Gordon of Carolina Herrera, Christian Louboutin, Narciso Rodriguez, Thom Browne, Albert Kriemler of Akris, Manolo Blahnik, Carolina Herrera, FIT alumnus Michael Kors, Oscar de la Renta, Valentino, Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel, Dries Van Noten, Isabel Toledo, Alber Elbaz and FIT graduate Ralph Rucci.
