Social Capital: How Jacquemus Became An Instagram Phenomenon
If there's anyone who knows how to leverage the power of social media, it's Simon Porte Jacquemus. From a giant straw hat to a teeny tiny bag, the young designer's creations are everywhere on social media, and he counts a whole host of celebrities and influencers among his fans, including Rihanna, Bella Hadid, and Emily Ratajkowski.
Jacquemus' approach is simple: he understands what looks good on social media. An example of this is his extra-large La Bomba hat. The Frenchman admitted that his team did not believe the extravagant hat would work, but instead La Bomba blew up the internet and became one of Jacquemus' best-selling designs. "If it's cute on Instagram, it will sell," he explained. "That's just the world we live in."
Jacquemus placed his bets on social media, and has proven to be right. His most talked about show so far had an incredibly Instagrammable location - the lush lavender fields of Provence. Celebrating a decade's worth of Jacquemus, models strutted their stuff on a hot pink runway that unfurled over the rolling hills, with a front row composed of social media's best and brightest.
In that same vein, the designer opened Citron earlier this year, a citrus-themed cafe located in the new Galeries Lafayette along the Champs-Élysée, featuring wooden tables, terracotta pots, and a dessert-heavy menu. His second venture, a seafood restaurant called Oursin, opened during Paris Fashion Week in September, complete with Instagram-worthy decor and uniforms. "What I do is storytelling", he said. "I want to create a lifestyle".
