When Simon Porte Jacquemus came on to the scene in 2009, he did so with a bang. The French designer’s playful take on Parisian fashion draws inspiration from 20th century sculpture, the French New Wave, and sunny afternoons in Marseille. His creations have catapulted him and his label into stardom, with the brand’s campaigns often going viral on social media.

“It’s [all about] having fun,” said Jacquemus. “Having fun is being creative, it's going one step aside and it's playing with the system.”

Jacquemus has been able to build on the social media buzz and create an independent label garnering more than 200 million euros ($210 million) in annual turnover. His fashion shows have been staged in picturesque locations across France, including the Chateau Versailles. In October, he opened his first store in New York City, drawing crowds akin to those mostly reserved for movie stars. This month, he opened another location in London, part of the designer’s plans for a global retail expansion.

At VOICES 2024, BoF founder and CEO Imran Amed sits down with Jacquemus to discuss how the designer has been able to build a successful independent business in the competitive luxury sector and amidst a consumer downturn.

Key Insights:

• Jacquemus credited creating attention and buzz in unconventional ways for the success of his brand and his ability to remain independent for 15 years. The designer recalled staging his debut runway show disguised as a fake protest outside of a Dior boutique on Avenue Montaigne as a media stunt that gained him notoriety early in his career. “I only had one rule when I [started]. I need to be visible,” he said.

• Jacquemus said his love for imagery and the hit TV show “Sex and the City” inspired to go into fashion. “I wanted to build images and create the sensation of a young boy looking at magazines,” the designer said. This fascination with imagery has translated to the brand’s social campaigns, namely the CGI versions of the label’s signature purse Le Bambino roaming through the streets of Paris.

• The brand’s design codes deviate from traditional luxury fashion, in that Jacquemus wanted his designs to appeal to ultra-luxury shoppers as well as mass consumers. “I [wanted] to do something everyone can understand – the post guy, my grandmother. And references to niche things.”

• Now, the designer wants to transport his feelings of familial bliss and his childhood in the south of France to his retail locations around the world. “I want them to feel like home,” he said. The design elements of the brick-and-mortar stores call back to Provence with soft linens, high windows and traditional furniture.

• As the CEO of the brand, Jacquemus said he finds he may often lean more toward the business side than the creative side. This is something he wants to balance in the near future. “I’m interested in everything,” he said. “I wake up every morning looking at the sales, not because I love money but because I want my work [to become] something real.”

Additional Resources:

• Jacquemus: A Fashion Star's Business Vision
• Jacquemus Is Seeking a Minority Investor
• The Debrief | What Makes Jacquemus So Successful?

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The beauty industry has witnessed a wave of disruptors rise and fall. Brands like Anastasia Beverly Hills, Glossier and Morphe leveraged social media and influencer marketing to achieve rapid success and unicorn valuations. But maintaining momentum has proven challenging, and some of these disruptor brands have seen sales fall and financial hurdles mount.

As Glossier proves, there is the possibility of a second chance, but it requires radical changes to the business to pull off. As beauty correspondent Daniela Morosini points out, “The barriers to entry have been removed. You can get a critical mass of fans and build an aesthetic for your brand quite quickly. Making it stick is more difficult.” In today’s crowded market, sustainable growth and a deliberate strategy are essential for standing out.

Key Insights:

• Slower growth in a crowded market can ensure longevity. “It’s the ones that are maybe growing a little bit slower, not having this initial huge rush and then a massive drop-off,” says Morosini. While brands can gain a critical mass of fans and build an aesthetic quickly, sustaining that momentum is much harder in today’s saturated market. “You go on TikTok, and there are 50 brands fighting for your attention. You go to Sephora, there's another 50,” Morosini adds. By focusing on steady, intentional growth, brands are better equipped to stand out and thrive in an environment where consumer choices are overwhelmingly abundant.

• In a saturated market, having a knowledgeable and authentic founder can differentiate a brand and build trust with consumers. “Brands that had a founder with expertise as a makeup artist or some other kind of professional qualifications helped bear out the brand and add a little bit more credence to it,” says Morosini. These founders often bring a personal approach to their brand, which resonates with consumers.

• Glossier’s success shows the value of balancing adaptation with staying true to a brand’s core mission. Despite being digital-first, the brand quickly established a physical presence, which “helped enmesh them and establish themselves with more the kind of quote unquote, middle-American consumer, just like a general shopper versus someone who is like a die-hard beauty fan,” explains Morosini. By moving away from an exclusively direct-to-consumer model, Glossier also refocused on its product assortment and customer needs. “Giving up on the DTC-only thing probably allowed them to take a hard look at their product assortment and build out more products that people were really interested in,” Morosini adds.

• A key lesson for emerging beauty brands is to prepare for both boom and bust cycles. As Morosini explains, “You’re probably going to be getting your most attention both from consumers and investors or acquirers during your fat years. And you need to be ready for the lean years because they're going to come.” She emphasises the importance of hedging strategies, noting, “No matter how well things are going, there will be a competitor snapping at your heels around the corner. Making sure that you’re keeping your strategy and product assortment broad enough to weather that.” Flexibility and foresight are essential to navigating inevitable market shifts.

Additional Resources:

• How Anastasia Beverly Hills Lost Its Footing | BoF
• Urban Decay’s ‘Naked’ Relaunch Is a Hit. Now Comes the Hard Part. | BoF

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Tina Brown is a force of nature in the world of journalism, offering unflinching and sometimes provocative glimpses into the lives of the world's most famous figures.

Born in England and educated at Oxford, she stormed the traditionally male bastions of print media, becoming editor-in-chief of Tatler at just 25. A few years later, she ushered in a new era as editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair, which was tens of millions of dollars in debt when she took over. Her unique formula of seductive storytelling, combined with hard-hitting journalism, increased the magazine’s monthly circulation from 200,000 to 1.2 million.

As an editor, Tina has never been afraid to push boundaries or challenge the orthodoxy, and she has not lost her magic touch. Last month she launched a weekly Substack newsletter, “Fresh Hell: Tina Brown’s Diary.” where she has already opined on trending topics from the Menendez Brothers to the re-election of Donald Trump. Right now, one of her main pre-occupations is around the future of journalism.

“More serious than anything is the death of truth and what that can do to a society,” she warns. “The resistance is going to have to come from the media.’

At VOICES 2024, Brown reflects on the seismic shifts in media, what this means for truth and democracy, and the role of journalism in the age of Donald Trump.

Key Insights:

• “I love the art of magazines … but I don’t read them anymore,” Brown admitted, echoing the sentiments of a changing audience. She argues that while print media might be fading, the real battle is to sustain investigative journalism, which remains critical to democracy. “What matters is that we have thoughtful, curious, truth-telling journalists in the roles that matter.”

• Brown criticises tech companies for profiting from journalism’s decline. “Twenty years ago, traditional media was too passive in the face of digital disruption,” she explains. “Content was taken for free and monetised by tech platforms, and we’re seeing it happen again with AI.” Highlighting the existential threat posed by the erosion of public trust in journalism, Brown calls for tech companies to take responsibility and invest meaningfully in journalism.

• On the battle between creativity and technology, Brown lamented the undervaluation of human creativity in an increasingly algorithm-driven world. “I do not know why writing sentences is not valued more than writing code, because they last longer, that's for sure. One Shakespeare sonnet - beat that algorithm.”

• Reflecting on Trump’s influence on both media and politics, Brown describes him as “the world’s great showman”. “He ran a campaign that was just endlessly watchable and was so extraordinarily sort of resourceful on improvising all the time,” she notes. However, Brown questions this approach to politics as entertainment. “We've become so debased by entertainment values that we now require our politicians to be entertainment,” she argued. “I actually question whether the old style politician will ever be in favour again.”

Additional Resources:

• BoF VOICES 2024: Confronting an Age of Uncertainty

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