Six things to know about Simon Porte Jacquemus

Since the start of the new year, Simon Porte Jacquemus has been teasing his more than 400,000 Instagram followers with hints of a #NewJob. On Monday night he opened Paris Fashion Week with a bang, revealing the details of his new challenge: his own menswear line. The first collection of L’homme Jacquemus did not hit the runway, but will debut in Paris come June, during men’s fashion week.

Already a firm fashion favourite, the self-taught Jacquemus set up his label in 2009, aged just 19. He’s developed a signature that is at once classically Gallic - think Breton stripes and quintessential French motifs - yet surreal, earning him the LVMH Special Prize in 2015 - on his second attempt. Aesthetically, Jacquemus treads a neat line between the conceptual and the commercial via twisted and deconstructed shirt dresses, asymmetric blazers and statement blouses. This year, he introduced mini-handbags, helping launch the trend after the creations were spotted on the likes of Rihanna. His poetic approach to presentations, cinematic campaigns and noted Instagram presence have made him a force to be reckoned with. As he announces L’homme Jacquemus, Vogue rounds up six things you may not know about the young designer…

His mother was his first model - and remains his most important muse

Jacquemus’s brand pays tribute above all else to his mother’s style and spirit. As a child, he made a dress for her out of beige linen, which she wore to take him to school the following day. Her untimely death (she died in a car accident aged only 42) pushed Jacquemus to start his own brand, under her maiden name. She remains a constant source of inspiration for the young designer, too: “I always want to try and create something very innocent,” he told Dazed in 2016. “Jacquemus is not about nightlife and clubbing and things like that, it’s more about fruit and vegetables and rolling in the grass.”