Leave it to Jacquemus to coax the Southern California sun out of its cloudy hibernation.
In the days leading up to the opening of the French label’s first Los Angeles boutique, the city had been uncharacteristically overcast—and a gray sky is, ultimately, not very Jacquemus. The brand’s sunny clothes and vacation-envy-inducing marketing tactics are designed to conjure up visions of azure coastlines, sun-kissed hunks, and celebrities in cartoonishly joyous sun hats, not a dreary metropolis. But just a few hours before the store’s big VIP event on Thursday evening, Helios heeded the call.
As I arrived at the new boutique on a busy corner of Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood, I felt like I was witnessing my algorithm come to life. Outside, a gaggle of internet-boyfriend-y television and social-media stars—Cole Sprouse, Noah Beck, Nicholas Chavez, Vinnie Hacker, and Benito Skinner among them—perused the faux-Provençal market stand stocked with yellow blossoms and bunches of bananas. (The banana is a cheeky running motif for this launch; the brand also unleashed a promotional banana-shaped car onto the streets of Hollywood.)
Indeed, Hollywood celebrity is the grease that keeps the wheels on the proverbial Jacquemus banana car spinning smoothly. The brand found its devoted American audience thanks in no small part to endorsements from the likes of the Jenners, the Biebers, and the Hadids, the latter of which was represented at the event on Thursday, by way of Bella and Gigi’s younger brother, Anwar Hadid.
The designer Eli Russell Linnetz, who lives in Venice Beach, stopped by the opening party while en route to a movie theater to catch a revival screening of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. There is something decidedly retro about the West Hollywood location, which is certainly more haute Beverly Hills than trendy Silver Lake. “I felt so ’80s, like, ‘Take me to Melrose, to the boutique!’” the designer said with a laugh.
Nearby, I overheard a visitor from New York City remark on the California sheen of it all: “I haven’t seen so many people wearing color in so long.”