JACQUEMUS "LA RIVIERA", L'ÉTÉ 2019
by: Rachel Sharp
Forget about coming back with a BANG. Designer Simon Porte Jacquemus has bounced back from the recent ‘Hat-Gate’ scandal that saw him come under fire from Instagram fashion police Diet Prada, with a BAG instead.
Indeed, in a metaphorical two fingers up to the recent scandal, Jacquemus sent models down his Spring Summer 2019 collection runway last night carrying oversized bags, amongst other things, that bore a striking similarity to the offending hat at the centre of the ‘hat-gate’ brouhaha.
Here’s the background if you missed it: several months ago, Bella Hadid uploaded a photo of herself wearing nothing but a giant frayed hat to Instagram. The image, originally published in a Mexican fashion magazine was reposted by Jacquemus and incorrectly tagged as its own.
Indeed, the French design house of the moment is famous for its oversized headwear, but on this occasion, the hat actually came from a little-known brand called Olmos and Flores and was constructed using traditional Mexican craft techniques.
Diet Prada called the French brand out on it in their typically acidic way. Jacquemus (the brand) removed the offending pictures from their social channels, but the language used in subsequent responses by both parties – Diet Prada and Jacquemus – was barbed, to say the least.
Last night, though, social spats were clearly the last thing on the talented young self-taught designer’s radar. Instead, he served up yet another critical success in Spring Summer 2019 collection form. Called La Riviera, the range presented in Paris’s Italian Embassy, was an upbeat mix of sexy silhouettes, ultra-high hemlines, and a carefree coastal palette of blues, greens and creams. In short, it was magical.
The large and the small of it: Jacquemus SS19
But it was the bags on show that proved he’s still a man committed to extremes. At one end of the scale were almost impractically tiny cross-body clutches and a belt bag that’s the stuff of fashion editors’ dreams. Then, an enormous beach tote with frayed edges so big you could practically live in it, let alone carry a full resort day’s essentials.
Consider the dichotomy of bag scale the two sides of the 28-year-old designer. One, the structured, polished, shy side, then the other, a ride-or-die over-share that definitely doesn’t need to Diet. In truth, we’re quite partial to both of his personas. And those yellow hot pants, well… enough said.
Originally published at Grazia