Jacquemus: Introduction to the furtive tale of one of the most captivating brands Part 1.

Upon hearing the name ‘Jacquemus’, numerous images may crop up in your head, from minuscule handbags to giant ones roaming the Parisian traffic just like buses. Well, Jacquemus’s story has fascinated me greatly ever since I first caught a glimpse of memes surrounding the ‘Le Chiquito’ handbags across social media platforms back in 2019. If I can recall correctly, the first image I saw was a red carpet photo of Lizzo sporting the miniature accessory, accompanied by some kind of joke like ‘I can fit all my patience in this bag’ or something like that. Since then, the vivid accessories have taken social channels by storm, and I came across them wherever I scrolled.

Photo taken in Harvey Nichols, in London back in December.

In 2020, you know, when everyone was downloading TikTok to cure the impending doom of the pandemic, I became slightly obsessed with the platform, too, especially after I started to see content tailored to my personal interests. My feed was blanketed by fashion and cooking videos as well as all kinds of viral content with dances. The Jacquemus miniature companions took over the clock app as well. As I am rummaging through my memory, I can recall several unboxing videos of such handbags. However, the ones still imprinted in my mind are where content creators were seen dragging an unrealistic amount of stuff out of the small leather pieces. I vividly remember the German fashion content creator Leonie Hanne ‘showing’ what she keeps in her pink mini ‘Le Chiquito’, whereas, in reality, the bag cannot hold half the stuff she was taking out from it. It was a brilliant joke that went viral and an even better way of creating a buzz around an up-and-coming brand.

Since then, images of Jacquemus items and eye-catching runway shows flooded all social media platforms, planting numerous questions in my mind: who is behind the hype-worthy brand and what strategies lay behind the colourful and lively facade? To satisfy my curiosities, I started following the label’s journey on Instagram and seeking articles about its collections and awe-inspiring shows, like its hot pink runway show in the middle of a lavender scene. That is the most memorable one and my favourite out of all the shows the label has done so far.

Still, this surface-level awareness was not enough for me. As I had to choose a dissertation topic a couple of months ago, I decided to construct comprehensive case studies about two fashion companies I adore and scrutinise their internationalisation approaches and business models along with their intertwinement. I decided to base my case studies on a heritage, conglomerate-owned brand, Yves Saint Laurent and a contemporary independent one, Jacquemus. I intended to showcase the differences between a firm with a legacy spanning decades and one that disrupted the industry by being different and rather digital-based. At the same time, I wanted to write about something I am genuinely passionate about and adore reading about. I hope you will enjoy reading snippets of my dissertation findings too.

In the upcoming blog posts, I would like to introduce you all to the world of the two fashion brands, discussing the tale of Jacquemus and its outlandish yet compelling marketing campaigns, describing Yves Saint Laurent’s everlasting impact on the fashion industry etc. The thing is, my research turned out to be way more complex than I intended it to be (I know I have an innate talent for overdoing things), and I would still love to talk and write about it. Don’t worry. This doesn’t mean I will bore you all with all 70 pages of my dissertation. Anyway, I hope this brief taster about Jacquemus titillated your attention and that you will come back for the other posts too.