The "splash" of Jacquemus in Hawaii The most Jacquemus-ian show ever?

A long wooden boardwalk spanning the sands of Moli'i Gardens, north of Ohau. The sun setting into the Pacific, the palm trees, the absolute, seraphic stillness. Jacquemus's show in Hawaii, of which the audience followed the unfolding almost in real time (including a sudden downpour that created a delay but also allowed the various guests and models to take many striking photos for Instagram) was, in keeping with its official name, a real le splash. The show was, in effect, a spin-off of sorts from the campaign shot for Jacquemus by Tom Kneller on the island but was also strongly desired by Simon Porte Jacquemus «who has long wished to visit the islands». Before the actual show, at least from the hemisphere of the world we're in, word came of its incredible beach after party, photos of which were shared in a Vogue reportage in all their Jacquemus-ian glory. Also before seeing the actual collection, the audience also saw the eclectic list of personalities invited, for reasons of geographical distance and sustainability, from the South Pacific and the United States and that included SZA, Jennie Kim of Blackpink, Amine, Nicole Scherzinger, Daniel Caesar, Don Toliver as well as Hawaii celebrities like Evan Mock, Bretman Rock, Mahina Florence and Ha'a Keaulana. 

Having arrived at this point in its life, being an established brand, Jacquemus has gathered admirers and detractors in equal measure. And this show has shown how by now, in fashion, there are increasingly deep rifts between a disengaged and escapist fashion and a committed and missionary one, between an avant-garde and "difficult" fashion and a wearable and "easy" one. Those who pretend that fashion can only be one thing, who judge ethics and intentions before clothes, and who, in evaluating a collection, hastily dismiss its products by comparing them to those of controversial brands of much lower quality, could perhaps get off their high horse and abandon their somewhat blasé attitude, which there is really no need for in the world today. Fashion is not just politics, nor is it engagement - fashion can also be a trip to the beach, the story of a journey, the remote atmosphere of an archipelago of mythological beauty. It's all part of the narrative of a fashion brand - which is not a non-profit charity (although the brand has shared multiple links dedicated to donations for the war in Ukraine), nor a cultural institution required to pontificate about the world and society. Luxury clothes and accessories are merely voluptuary, don't forget that. And so escapism is welcome. Intellectualism, after all, is the poison of art.