Simon toasted 15 years of his brand with a dolce vita pit stop on the Italian island, inviting Dua Lipa, Peggy Gou and Giveon to celebrate with him
The 2025 Cruise shows have been plagued with shit weather and pouring rain, but trust Simon Porte Jacquemus to guarantee nothing but blistering hot summer sun as he transported the fashion crowd to Capri for his big, bumper 15th anniversary show. Not one to do things by halves, the French designer gathered a group of his closest friends, a couple of celebrities, and a handful of press to take in his La Casa collection, but as per usual it was his grandma who stole the show. Ticket lost in the mail somehow? Here’s everything that went down.
The show took place at Casa Malaparte, a historic, sunset-hued house at the top of a vertiginous cliff overlooking the crystal blue waters below. The villa was famously used as a location by late director Jean-Luc Godard when he was shooting 1963 classic Contempt. A huge fan of all of Godard’s work, Simon said he’d been particularly struck by the scenery of the island and Brigitte Bardot’s performance in the movie when he saw it as a kid, so getting to show at the fabled Casa was “a dream come true”. Piling in off speedboats – Jaxquemus flags flapping in the not-so-gentle breeze – and clambering up the steep steps to the top of the cliffs, guests huddled under sunny yellow umbrellas to escape the heat of the afternoon sun and await the celebrities’ arrivals.
Italy is where the term ‘paparazzi’ originated – in the 1960 Fellini movie La Dolce Vita, if you’re interested – and a few dozen of them surrounded the marina where guests were making their way to the show from. Among those they were trying to get the money shot of were Dua Lipa, who stepped out in an azure blue gown taken from the new La Casa collection, as well as Peggy Gou, who went for an all-red look. Joining the group was musician Giveon and Gwyneth Paltrow, who presumably wished Simon well as she said hello pre-show. The person who got the most cameras shooting into the air as she arrived, however, was Simon’s grandmother. The former Jacquemus campaign face slipped into a loose white column dress and a slicked back topknot and beamed with pride throughout. Seriously: too cute.
Jennie from Blackpink and Simon have struck up a strong friendship in recent years, so after rumours of her attending but no sign of her in the audience, people began to wonder where she’d got to. All was revealed when the singer stepped out onto the runway, which meandered up and down a hefty set of stairs onto the roof of the house, in a slinky halterneck dress with a turquoise clutch bag tucked under her arm.
Simon has always had a knack for creating easy but beautiful clothes that women (and, more recently, men!) really want to wear, and the La Casa collection continued in that tradition. With Brigitte Bardot and Jackie O on the moodboard – wearing chic little shirts, easy dresses, and of course, Capri trousers – Simon wanted to create a collection ideal for the long hot nights on the island at the height of summer. This meant floor-length gowns made from light-as air chiffon, roomy Bermuda shorts, and spaghetti-strap camis with peplums to the hips and bust. Looks came finished with more of his covetable handbags and chic scarves wrapped around the models’ heads – ideal for keeping your hair from looking like a seagull has nested in it when whipping around the island on a speedboat or yacht. Meanwhile, the boys were in preppy little ankle-length trousers and sailor shirts, or structured tees with ballooning sleeves for a bit of drama. The perfect little summer holiday capsule, all in all.
Historically, it was Simon’s accessories that got the girlies frothing at the mouth, with his ubiquitous Chiquito bag the perfect example of his power – in 2019, you could barely move without seeing one on the crook of someone’s arm or a tiny version clutched between thumb and forefinger. Now, however, Simon says it is his ready-to-wear that’s proving to be a winner. “We never sold so many clothes as we did the last year,” the designer told the press pit post-show. “People have the bags now. They want the full looks to go with them.” With this demand now reaching fever pitch, the La Casa show coincided with the grand opening of a Jacquemus boutique on Capri, meaning visitors to the island can get their Simon fix right here, right now.
Click through the gallery above for a closer look at La Casa.