PARIS — Jacquemus is ready to branch out into beauty.
The company said Friday it has inked a long-term license with French beauty giant L’Oréal, which has also made a minority investment in Jacquemus as it elevates its positioning with increasingly sophisticated products and boutiques in marquee locations worldwide.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Fifteen years ago, I began dreaming of and creating Jacquemus, with perfume and beauty always part of my vision for the brand. Today I am proud to continue shaping this dream with the leading beauty group, L’Oréal. I’m excited to see what the future holds for us,” Simon Porte Jacquemus, president, founder and creative director of Jacquemus, said in a statement.
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It marks the culmination of a long-term plan for Jacquemus, known for its sun-drenched Mediterranean aesthetic, slick social media campaigns and cinematic runway displays in spectacular locations including a lavender field, a salt mine and the Palace of Versailles.
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WWD first reported in 2021 that Jacquemus planned to partner with Spanish beauty and fashion company Puig on a beauty venture. Puig even acquired a 10 percent stake in the label, but the plan was aborted and Jacquemus subsequently bought back the stake.
Having fiercely guarded his independence since founding his brand in 2009, the designer confirmed in October that he was seeking a minority investor to support the company’s next phase of growth, amid a broad luxury sector downturn that was expected to dent its full-year 2024 revenues.
“I value my independence, I want to pass the business on to my children, but I need to break the glass ceiling by finding the right partner who will remain a minority shareholder,” Jacquemus told French daily Le Figaro. He and his husband Marco Maestri last year welcomed twins.
For L’Oréal, Jacquemus complements a luxury beauty portfolio that includes brands such as Giorgio Armani, Prada, Valentino, Viktor & Rolf and Mugler, and should expand its reach among Gen Z consumers.
Speaking at an analyst meeting Friday at L’Oréal headquarters outside Paris, after the company reported fourth-quarter sales that missed market expectations, Cyril Chapuy, president of L’Oréal Luxe, said the group is the first-ranking luxury beauty company worldwide.
“We are permanently obsessed by improving this portfolio,” he said. “And if we see beautiful brands out there on the market, whether they are through licenses or through acquisitions, we always take a close look at them.”
The last two licenses the division added to the Luxe portfolio were Miu Miu, the number-one fashion brand on The Lyst Index, and now Jacquemus, the executive underlined.
“I’m extremely excited also to have convinced Simon Porte Jacquemus,” said Chapuy. “He’s an incredible creative and genius [working] with us for his beauty development. These two brands for sure have great potential. Our couture brands are all extremely dynamic — Saint Laurent, Prada, Valentino, Margiela, Armani, Mugler.
“All of them really contribute strongly to our leadership position worldwide in fragrance but also in makeup,” he continued. “Because couture makeup is on-trend right now. [It’s] growing in most regions — not only in China. It is growing a lot in the U.S., for instance.”
Nicolas Hieronimus, chief executive officer of L’Oréal, told the meeting the investment in Jacquemus did not signal an intention to grow its fashion activities, which for now are limited to Mugler. The beauty group acquired the brand in 2020 as part of a global deal to buy Mugler and Azzaro from Groupe Clarins.
“We do not intend to go higher in the capital of Jacquemus,” Hieronimus said. “Overall, I think we are very good at doing beauty, and I’m not sure we’d be as good at doing fashion. So we let the experts play with their own brands and lead their own brands.”
He compared the minority investment to an upfront license fee. “It’s a good way to show Simon that we are supportive and believe in this brand, and it helps him develop his retail project,” Hieronimus said.
Jacquemus last year opened his first stores in New York City and London, with interior design by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas’ OMA agency. Another boutique was set to open in Los Angeles this month, although the date has been pushed back due to the wildfires that killed at least 29 people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses.
Everywhere he goes, the designer draws huge crowds. In New York during the store opening, a food truck distributed free croissants and orange juice in brown paper bags, some concealing a golden ticket for a Le Rond Carré handbag, while for the London opening, it was tea and a mock tabloid newspaper called The Daily Jacquemust.
Following the show at Versailles in 2023, Jacquemus cemented its luxury ambitions by returning to the official Paris Fashion Week calendar last month with a couture-inspired coed show presented in the private apartment of Art Deco architect Auguste Perret, in front of guests including Pamela Anderson and K-pop star Hongjoong.
Jacquemus has been doing double duty as creative director and CEO since the departure in December 2023 of Bastien Daguzan. According to market sources, Celine North America president Sarah Benady is poised to fill the role, WWD reported on Jan. 28.
The new CEO will be charged with rebooting revenues, which totaled 270 million euros in 2023 but took a hit last year as aspirational consumers tightened their pursestrings. Daguzan said in 2022 that Jacquemus had a medium-target of 500 million euros in revenues by 2025, but that projection now appears ambitious.
The Jacquemus store in London.