17 June 2024 |
Simon Porte Jacquemus called his AW24 show Lacasa – an apt title considering the homely clothes that came walking down the terracotta-tiled veranda at Capri’s Casa Malaparte. It was the designer’s 15th anniversary collection, and it showed. Not only were the designs joyous in nature, but there was a palpable merriment to them both in the pastel colour palette and the light and summery feel of the fabrics.
Connecting the clothes to the scenic setting in which they were shown, Jacquemus found his point of departure in the tiled flooring and intense colourings of Curzio Malaparte’s home and Jean-Luc Godard’s 1963 cult film Contempt (Le Mépris). Describing it as “a panoramic exploration of essential forms” in the show notes, silhouettes focused on minimalist geometries and classical Greek draping.
Waists were cinched in and contours curved. Scoop-neck vests were paired with billowing tailored trousers and front-pleat Bermuda shorts were worn with airy boatneck blouses. Pops of vivid zebra stripes on furry trench coats and tailored twinsets danced alongside marinière polos and trousers in crisp, dark denim. Sheer slip dresses undulated like liquid with every step, their jersey compositions cascading down models figures with a seaside sense of ease. Lending a subtle surrealist touch to the range, jacket lapels jutted out like architectural appendages and structured A-line skirts sat beneath rigid peplum bodices.
To close the show, South Korean Starlet Jennie Kim made her runway debut. The Blackpink frontwoman, with her precise, black, backless dress and vivid turquoise clutch channelled Brigitte Bardot in Godard’s Contempt (Le Mepris), which was originally shot at Casa Malaparte alongside other idyllic locations. It was the essence of breezy, French, summertime bliss.
Photography courtesy of Jacquemus.
