Jacquemus: how the Provençal sun became a marketing strategy

Simon Porte Jacquemus founded his label in 2009 and named it after his mother’s maiden name. From day one it was not just a clothing brand but a personal story about the south of France, childhood and sunshine.

A doorway with the Jacquemus sign, the harbour, a rowing boat and two striped chairs beyond — A sign above the sea, a boat, striped chairs: sun and the south are the brand’s raw material. © Jacquemus

What makes the brand strong

Place as part of the brand. For the label’s tenth anniversary, in June 2019, Jacquemus staged a show in the lavender fields of Valensole in Provence. A bright pink runway cut through the purple field, and the collection was called Le Coup de Soleil, “sunstroke”. Images like that are impossible not to share.

Colour as a signature. Sunny yellow appears everywhere: beach umbrellas, a big umbrella outside the London boutique in the rain, juice in jars with the logo. The colour works like a logo: people recognise it before they read the name.

Yellow Jacquemus umbrellas against a blue sky — Yellow as a signature: beach umbrellas, juice with the logo, an umbrella in the London rain and the boutique on New Bond Street. © Jacquemus

Events designed for the photograph. The brand thinks about how a show will look in the feed before the press writes about it. Every event is a ready-made viral image.

Giant bags in the streets, a lemon in the window, a boat on a lake: every campaign is designed as an image people want to share. Video: a compilation of the brand’s campaigns. © Jacquemus

A bold signature product. The Le Chiquito mini bag, so small it barely holds anything, became a conversation in itself. Celebrities picked it up quickly, and Jacquemus gained a kind of recognition that is hard to buy with advertising.

A suede Jacquemus bag on a travertine plinth — Bags are the label’s signature product. In the boutique each one stands alone, like a sculpture. © Jacquemus

What to take for your business

Talk about your roots. Almaty, the mountains, apples, your neighbourhood: this is your Provence.
Plan events around the shot. An opening, a collaboration or a tasting should look so good that guests film and post it themselves.
Make one bold thing. An unusual product people want to argue about replaces months of advertising.

People share stories and beautiful moments, not products.

Images and videos belong to Jacquemus and their authors and are shown as illustrations for this review.