After viewing the amusing teaser clips for Simon Porte Jacquemus’s latest show — titled “Le Palmier” after the palm-tree hairstyle popularized in the ’80s and depicted as a must to gain entry to hip Paris parties — French Elle whipped up an online tutorial, recommending several passes with a boar-bristle brush before tying the ponytail at the crown of your head.
The Jacquemus invitation came with a wide-tooth comb to remove tangles, and its own instructions to achieve a palmier.
Many of the models in the show sported the baffling hairstyle, which heightened the retro spirit of the collection, hinged on sculptural cocktail silhouettes, batwing coats, filmy dresses and the kind of luncheon suits Ivana Trump and her ilk might have worn back in the day.
Skirts hugged the derriere and legs, then erupted in ruffles past the knee. But the fits were seldom flattering, and several outfits in this overly long show bordered on pastiche.
The designer’s mood board included Paloma Picasso, one of his idols and a style icon of that go-go decade. His one-shoulder finale dress, the model holding a wine glass over her bare right breast for modesty, was directly inspired by a famous Helmut Newton photo that was pinned to his mood board.
The designer was on safer ground with pencil skirts, bra-like tops, demonstrative white shirts and draped jersey dance dresses.
The menswear was also uneven — a suit in Play-doh colors, anyone? — but it felt more original, with especially playful takes on tuxedo dressing. During the preview, Jacquemus reported that men’s ready-to-wear now equals his women’s rtw, thanks largely to the pants category, along with shirts and tailoring.
He’s still in expansion mode, gearing up to open a boutique in the Miami Design District this fall, cementing the U.S. as his linchpin market.
This was the second Jacquemus show at the Picasso Museum, though this time the designer imagined it as a beautiful mansion for a fancy party, many of the women in feathery finery “at the limit of costume,” the designer said.
“The message was to do something fun,” he said. “It’s a bit my obsession this year. I want everyone to have fun, not take ourselves too seriously.”
To be sure, the show had a festive atmosphere as guests watched the likes of Elton John, Sophie Marceau, Josh Hartnett and Korean girl group Illit filing into the building, and later marveling as Jacquemus, feeling his oats, kicked up his heels and spun around as he bounded through the building for an extended bow.
Sitting front row was his grandmother and freshly named brand ambassador Liline Jacquemus, who said she’s always happy to step up for modeling duty. “As long as my grandson is happy, that’s all I care about. It’s family first,” she said.
Few guests sported a palmier on their heads, but the kooky hairstyle had Elizabeth Olsen reminiscing about her most embarrassing haircut. “I had to wear a three-quarter wig for a TV show that was very short, and so all my hair had to be cut for like two inches around my face, and that was terrible to grow out,” she said.
Her seatmate Damson Idris couldn’t relate. “Actually, I’ve never, ever had a bad hairstyle,” he said with a cackle. “I always looked fly.”
— With contributions from Joelle Diderich
