Fashion lies in the eye of the beholder who dreams.
By Alice Sourdès
You take the boy out of the countryside, but you cannot take the countryside out of the boy. Simon Porte Jacquemus, founder and creative director of the eponymous brand Jacquemus, has once again made men's wear season his playground, a blank canvas to let his imagination run free. With his Spring/Summer 2026 collection titled 'le paysan,' meaning 'the peasant,' Jacquemus goes back to his first inspirations, essence and dreams found in his roots in Salon-de-Provence, a small town in southern France.
Yet, the designer still clings to unconventional runway sites. After lavender fields or architectural buildings, the brand returns to the Château de Versailles this time using its Orangerie gardens. Closing the Paris Men’s Spring/Summer calendar, the front row gathered none other than Jacquemus' muse and grandma, friends of the house, established fashion figures such as Laetitia Casta and celebrities from across the board. From athletes Jules Koundé and Armand Duplantis, to movie stars Emma Roberts, Matthew McConaughey and Pierre Niney, passing by worldwide sensations Aya Nakamura, Tiakola and Ghali, the Château de Versailles had nothing to envy in terms of past festivities.
'Le paysan' is a deep dive into Simon Porte Jacquemus’ family archives. While he has been dedicating his runways to pay homage to women in his life one of his main sources of fashion inspirations this collection taps into something even more intimate autobiographical almost. Jacquemus meets writer Marcel Pagnol and painter Jean-François Miller’s rural roots offering a collection straight out of 19th-century art with modernity coated with nostalgia that longs for times no longer but cannot help but yearn for like Kidsuper's Colm Dillane.
Inspired by youth in Provence, where the designer grew up on a farm, focusing on rural elegance rustic workwear with a unique Jacquemus twist: tassel fringes, capri pants, tailored jackets (Looks 24, 45, 57), and shawls paraded around the runway. While the color palette leaned into black, beige, white, hints of yellow, pink, blue, pastel hues (Looks 2, 21, 32) made their way to dresses shirts head scarves. Trompe-l'oeil accessories revisited espadrilles with punctuated crafted looks. In both men and women’s silhouettes, the key garment was, without a doubt, large skirts of linen poplin tulle (Looks 4, 6, 9), sometimes paired at the waist and resembling aprons which referred to the designer's great-grandmother's petticoats.
The nostalgic sentiment has transcended generations of fashion aficionados, including Simon Porte Jacquemus. This collection puts the brand back on a track it has never truly left, one that celebrates memories and uplifts the beauty of daily life. Fashion is a profession of hope for Simon Porte Jacquemus, and he is indeed living a daydream.