Jacquemus, “Le Splash” SS22: Uplifting the Islands
A breathtaking collection by crowd-pleaser, Jacquemus, gave Hawaii a chance to shine.
Jacquemus has come a long way from the lavender field of his SS22 collection and landed on the sun-soaked shores of Hawaii. The departure is quite a surprise, as Jacquemus has been previously defined by the breezy women of southern France, but Jacquemus has his eye on other girls. She is tanned, relaxed, and salt-soaked, and she knows how to draw in your attention. While the collection opened with camouflaged beige neutrals that faded into the sand, something the brand is known for and does well, the tropical colors are the standout.
Elevated easy beachwear opened the show, with look five giving an update to an 80’s high cut one piece. Twisted straps emphasize the shoulders and a little cutout side cleavage draw the eye upwards leading you to gold sculpted hoop earrings. “Le Splash,” features stunning beadwork with intricate gold and square-cut glass showing the outline of your legs as the iridescence catches the tropical sun. The full-length skirt moves like rushing water accomplishing beadist, Tanya Lyons', vision for the show. The designer challenged the runway norm of a heel by opting for a scuba diving shoe complete with built in toes, because walking in a fiber glass skirt must be paired with utilitarian style.
Midway through the collection is look 33, a beautiful amber orange halter dress with a fun orange cutout, drenched in crystal water droplets. The beads steal the show giving the captivating look of just stepping out of the ocean à la James Bond girl. All eyes are on her, and she knows it. Contrasting lengths bounced off each other and the ever-present cut-out concept was reimagined in more subtle ways. This dress features a small cutout, more like a slash, just at the hip and is styled over luxurious satin pants that turns the otherwise sexy dress into something more relaxed and playful. Hushed-golden yellow straps fall under the shoulders mimicking the effortless eroticism of a lazy bikini strap, while the velvety gloves tie it all together with a complimenting sun-kissed hue.
Towards the finale, look 52 jumps off the page with geometric beading taking the squares from look 5 ten steps farther. The simple blazer keeps a daringly crowded look grounded and lets the statement piece speak for itself. Gold links look like they are floating over storm cloud grey, fitting for a fashion show that was paused for O’ahu’s tropical rain. From what we can see, a cool blue bikini lies underneath showing quite a bit of skin. All that sex appeal is the perfect antithesis to an oversized blazer paired with an even longer shirt peeking out from under it. The arrow cut of the blazer stays consistent with the geometric motifs expanded throughout the collection. She’s the new Jacquemus girl: leisurely and sharp; relaxed and elegant.
Beyond the fashion is the cultural significance of the new location. Hawaii has had a long and complicated past with the U.S. and colonialism. So it would make sense that hosting the show there might garner criticism of further perpetuating the idea that their land is the world’s to use. While Jacquemus isn't an American line, the idea of bringing more people onto the island is generally an idea natives are warry of. He did something remarkable though, which should be noted and become an example in the future for destination shows. A majority of the models were from the island. His stylist Ben Perreira is also from the island. The crew is from the island. Our use of repetition here is to highlight something brutally important: he went to the island and lifted their people up. He allowed them to explore a world that hadn’t paid attention to them before, gave models who have never walked before a chance. His collection featured a tropic feeling, and it is only right to feature the people who created it. The show didn't start with a look, it started with a traditional blessing, which may have been even more awe-inspiring than the clothes, which is saying something. Jacquemus women are stunning, lively, playful yet sophisticated, and worldly. So is the mission of the brand.
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