Simon Porte Jacquemus honoured by Anna Wintour during PFW

In the midst of Paris Fashion Week, Anna Wintour, editorial director of Condé Nast, was chosen by designer Simon Porte Jacquemus to present the French insignia, 'Chevalier De L'Ordre Des Arts Et Des Lettres' (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters), which recognises "individuals who have distinguished themselves through their creative work in the artistic or literary field or through the contribution they have made to the influence of the arts and letters in France and around the world".

"Tonight, my thoughts are with Valérie. When I lost my mother at the age of 18," explained Jacquemus, the youngest designer to be nominated for this award at 34 years old, at a podium bearing the name of his brand. "When I lost... How many times have I repeated that phrase to the press, on television and to my teams? Like a boomerang, like a suit of armour. I remember us in the Twingo, where not a day went by without an insult, a mockery. After school, you decided that enough was enough. You told me, 'You can't see that you're different, that's your strength'. She was right."

Anna Wintour honours the talent of Simon Porte Jacquemus

In a speech delivered at his company's headquarters, Jacquemus, his voice trembling, thanked the industry "which did not welcome me with open arms, but deep down, it welcomed me", and explained that he had promised his mother to be in Vogue. It is therefore relevant that he would then ask Wintour to present him with the medal.

This is the second award received by Jacquemus. The French designer, who does not take part in Paris Fashion Week preferring to show off-schedule, was also the 2024 winner of the Neiman Marcus Prize, awarded by the American luxury department store, for innovation in fashion.

Jacquemus will celebrate its 15th anniversary with a fashion show at Casa Malaparte, where Jean-Luc Godard shot scenes from his film "Le Mépris".

Launched in 2009, Jacquemus has enjoyed an unprecedented success story, driven by aggressive marketing and a community of loyal followers that has made the brand, "which used to be the footer below the horoscope", in the words of Jacquemus, one of the best-known French fashion houses of its time.

The company, which has just one shop in the world, on Avenue Montaigne in Paris, told Business of Fashion magazine that it had passed the 200 million euro mark in 2022 and was aiming for half a billion in sales by 2025.