Dua Lipa? Kendall Jenner? Laetitia Casta? In mid-January, designer and fashion entrepreneur Simon Porte Jacquemus let social media speculate for a few days about the identity of the very first ambassador for his brand, which he founded in 2009. Followers placed their bets on Instagram; industry professionals, in the thick of Paris Men’s Fashion Week, tossed around a few guesses, but no one imagined that the lucky winner would be… Liline, the designer’s grandmother, a central figure in the highly personal storytelling he has emphasized since his beginnings.
To announce the news, the Jacquemus label posted a rather humorous Instagram message, sharing the terms of a fake contract with outlandish exclusivity clauses worthy of a scene from The Devil Wears Prada 2: a requirement to wear the brand in a head-to-toe look “without exception,” a ban on being “emotionally associated” with another fashion house, on mentioning the name of a competing brand, or on removing her Jacquemus clothes “at home, at night, or in dreams.”
It was a way of mocking the business of brand ambassadors and the contractual one-upmanship that governs their public appearances. This comes at a time when stars seem increasingly eager to loosen the stranglehold of restrictive partnerships. Because, while the total look policy (which consists of banning the very idea of wearing a Dior jacket with Balenciaga pants) remains the rule in the industry, many celebrities now alternate brands from one appearance to the next.
You have 92.89% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.