Because fashion, like life, is not to be taken “too seriously,” says Simon Porte Jacquemus.
What is it that they say? That there is nothing fun and glamorous about fashion design? Well, if it’s a playfully influential brand such as Jacquemus that says otherwise, then the only thing that makes sense is to believe it.
Just take a look at the French label’s Fall/Winter 2026 collection, which founder Simon Porte Jacquemus crafted to be all fun without any pressure or expectations. The message, he said, was simple: “To do something fun.”
“It’s a bit my obsession this year. I want everyone to have fun, not to take ourselves too seriously,” the self-taught designer told WWD. In fact, creating pieces with a “sun-kissed” and “free” aesthetic has been Porte’s goal since launching his brand in 2009, at the age of 19.
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The now 36-year-old designer believes that he’s someone who has always been “happy, excited, and impatient.” These qualities are likewise present in his latest collection, which radiates a witty, carefree, and youthful spirit.
Dubbed “Le Palmier,” Porte’s latest offering was inspired by an unexpectedly quirky angle: his daughter’s palm-tree ponytail. And everything at the show in the Picasso Museum during Fashion Week exuded coquettish, playful, and charming attractiveness.
For starters, the invitation came with a wide-tooth comb and a set of instructions on how to achieve a palmier, a tight ponytail popularized as a chic, high-fashion look in the 1980s. The house coupled this with an online tutorial by French Elle.
On the night of January 25, Jacquemus welcomed guests into the beautiful 17th-century mansion of the Picasso Museum, which was designed to evoke “the first glow of a party evening.” The festive atmosphere was amplified by its distinguished guest list, including Elton John, Sophie Marceau, Josh Hartnett, Elizabeth Olsen, and Korean girl group Illit.
Like any Fashion Week show, the real star is, of course, the house’s “Le Palmier” collection, which features spontaneous, sculptural pieces influenced by 1950s couture shapes, 1990s sensuality, and satirical humor from 1980s French films or technicolor television shows.
Porte’s mood board included his idol and ‘80s style icon Paloma Picasso, not as a direct reference, but to guide him in coming up with pieces that celebrate a woman “poised to steal the show” from these “cheeky icons” that marked his childhood.
Models sashayed down the runway in sculptural cocktail dresses, batwing coats, luncheon suits, and filmy dresses. Many of them sported the baffling palm-tree–inspired hairstyle, heightening the retro vibe of the collection.
Porte continued to showcase his mastery of turning the everyday into extraordinary with leg-hugging skirts erupting in ruffles below the knee, as well as structured tailored jackets, sheer dresses, and sculptural hourglass coats.
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For this season, Porte wove a fine balance between the men’s ready-to-wear and women’s RTW largely through pants, shirts, and tailoring. His originality once again shone in the men’s tuxedos that came in bright Play-Doh colors or accessorized with neckties seemingly blown away by the wind.
These satirical, playful looks conversed with bra-like tops, pencil skirts, demonstrative white shirts, and jersey dance dresses that Porte designed on safer ground. And for his final look, Porte showcased a one-shoulder dress, with the model holding a wine glass over her bare right breast. This was inspired by a famous Helmut Newton photo which, like many of his “naked” fashion portraits in the 1970s, challenged traditional views of femininity by depicting women as powerful, sensual, and in control.
Porte ended the show by kicking up his shoes and spinning around the runway before bowing to the audience. Cheering him from the crowd was his grandmother Liline Jacquemus, who was just named as the house’s first-ever ambassador on January 23.
“I’m proud to introduce our very first Jacquemus Brand Ambassador: my grandmother, Liline Jacquemus,” he said of her appointment on Instagram. “Before anything, there was her. The original icon.”
“Before Jacquemus existed, she was already my inspiration. Her strength, her elegance, her authenticity… she shaped the way I see women, and the way I imagine this Maison,” he continued. And true to Jacquemus’ playful and witty fashion, Porte shared a set of rules his grandmother must adhere to as the face of the house.
This included attending every Jacquemus show “as if it were a family dinner, front row, without discussion,” not removing Jacquemus pieces “at home, at night, or in dreams,” and last but definitely not least, “The ambassador must smile. Always. As we should all do.”
