Last week, Jacquemus jetted off to Capri, Italy, to showcase its 15th-anniversary collection in front of only 40 guests – Dua Lipa, Gwyneth Paltrow and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley among them. Despite the intimate in-person guestlist, the brand has racked up a huge number of followers on social media, where fans could keep an eye on the catwalk.

While this collection consisted of chic pastel yellow colours, simplistic yet highly structural dresses and the odd punchy zebra print, you may know the French label best for its mini le chiquito bags, exaggerated sun hats or the stacked high heels that really have to be seen to be believed. And it’s these fun fashion-forward pieces that people seem to truly love.

“I first started buying Jacquemus whilst at Monnier Paris around 2014,” shares luxury brand development and buying consultant, Pamela Brady. “There was huge excitement around the brand, especially as I was based in Paris much of the time, and the cool Parisian girls welcomed the uncomplicated yet playful designs that had an accessible price point and were fun but never tacky”. 

Since then, Jacquemus has gone on to produce over €280 million (£236 million) in 2023 and plans to reach €500 million (£420 million) by 2025, according to industry publication Business of Fashion. So, clearly, there’s much success to celebrate in its 15th year. Although what separates the brand from the other big luxury fashion Houses – Gucci, Prada or Louis Vuitton, for example – is the fact that it’s still independent, meaning it isn’t owned by one of the mammoth luxury conglomerates such as LVMH, Kering or Richemont.

This puts Jacquemus in an incredibly interesting position. As we’ve seen with other similar labels, such as Stella McCartney, Marc Jacobs and Alexander McQueen, these big luxury groups definitely do come knocking once a brand reaches a certain level of success. However, perhaps it’s this separation that gives Jacquemus an exciting edge.

“Much of the success of Jacquemus is that it has stayed true to its unique vision as a beautiful and dreamy brand with innovative products and clever digital marketing that entices you season after season,” says Brady. Adding, “the continuing process of evolution at Jacquemus could simply not be possible without being an independent brand”. While large parent companies can provide bigger budgets and help scale a fashion brand, it’s also known that focuses can shift to hit incredibly high sales targets, which adds extra pressure onto the designers and their teams. 

Brady notes this freedom is Jacquemus’ strong point as they “celebrate that they are independent and not shackled down by one of the big groups and the constant merchandising demands that comes with being part of a huge machine.” This also means the brand can change direction at any time, using different artisans and suppliers while “free of exhaustive commitments that larger fashion groups bring,” which we hope will long continue.

As we’ve seen with the likes of Chanel, Salvatore Ferragamo and Valentino, who are also running independently without the support from these chic conglomerates, real scale can still be achieved. So we’ll have to wait and see if Jacquemus is still independent at its next big birthday celebration. 

Images: Courtesy of Jacquemus.