On Sept. 4, at the David Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, The Museum at FIT (MFIT) held its annual Couture Council Luncheon, honoring Simon Porte Jacquemus, founder and designer at the eponymous fashion house JACQUEMUS. He received the 2024 Couture Council Artistry of Fashion Award.
“It is with immense gratitude that I stand before you today to receive the 2024 Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion,” Jacquemus said. “When I first heard I was the recipient of this award, I was struck with disbelief. This moment feels almost surreal. At 19, I launched JACQUEMUS with nothing more than a dream—no resources, no contacts—just a clear vision to redefine fashion, to approach it from a fresh perspective. Today, 15 years later, JACQUEMUS is a house with over 300 employees, and I’m proud to say that we remain independent. For me, this is an invaluable achievement.”
FIT President Joyce F. Brown and MFIT Director and Chief Curator Valerie Steele both gave a warm welcome to guests. Pete Nordstrom, president and chief brand officer of Nordstrom Inc., which presented the event, shared remarks expressing pride in Nordstrom’s support of FIT and its student body.
“The JACQUEMUS line is the embodiment of innovative, contemporary and passionate design,” Dr. Brown said. “Simon weaves poetry into each creation and infuses them with playful and sun-drenched expressions of French fashion and lifestyle. And beyond that, the path that he has forged as a young designer who set out on his own with few resources and many grand ideas, is truly an inspiration to our students who are finding their own creative way.”
“Jacquemus’ brand is a personal and authentic aesthetic that references his childhood memories of Mediterranean vacations, love, fun and family,” said Steele. “I think he realizes more than many designers the incredible importance of emotion and the way we respond to fashion…narrative and biographical elements are juxtaposed in his work with the aesthetic of color and silhouette. From the beginning of the Jacquemus brand, young women have been attracted by its fun, naive and sometimes surreal minimalism…”
Jacquemus was presented with the award, a golden spool of thread, by Steele. Jacquemus also gave a talk to students on campus on September 4.
Steele presented also The Museum at FIT student award to Patrick Garry, an Art History and Museum Professions major, for his dedication to museum work.
The luncheon was co-chaired by Couture Council board members Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz, founding editor-in-chief of Vogue Arabia and founder of D’NA, and Sarah Wetenhall, president and owner of The Colony Hotel. The event raised funds for The Museum at FIT, New York’s only museum dedicated exclusively to the art of fashion. Proceeds will go toward developing exhibitions, programming, and symposia, all of which are free and open to the public.
Notable event attendees included FIT trustees Mona Aboelnaga Kanaan and Liz Peek; Couture Council board members Carole Divet Harting, Yaz Hernández, Julie Macklowe, Melissa Mafrige-Mithoff, Kara Ross, Lara Meiland-Shaw, and Jean Shafiroff; fashion lawyer and FIT Foundation chair Douglas Hand; New York Fashion Week creator and FIT Foundation board member Fern Mallis; Couture Council advisory board members Ken Downing, fashion director of Neiman Marcus, and Hal Rubenstein, author and journalist; philanthropist Lizzie Asher; journalist and editor Alina Cho; designer Christian Cowan; designer Marisol Deluna; jewelry designer Meredith Marks; designer B. Michael; entrepreneur and journalist Lauren Santo Domingo; entrepreneur Ramona Singer; and Nordstrom fashion director Rickie de Sole; among others.
