Jolie Jolly Jupe

Outside the Junya Watanabe show this season, on a wet and miserable Saturday morning, I was cursing myself for getting there ridiculously early.  Too early, even by Japanese standards.  I stood patiently in the rain, waiting for the doors to open, alongside other Comme universe diehard fans.  A glance to the left and you saw three girls – Kate Villevoye, Wara Juana Gutierrez Mamani and Caroline Koning – skipping down the wet pavement, jolly and jolie in their neat n’ natty navy blazers, shirts with a female tie, beautifully embroidered skirts and sensible shoes.  They’re clothes that you’d imagine to be the grown-up version of cute n’ prim Bonpoint outfits for children.  To borrow a French cliche, bon chic bon genre would be another way of describing these ensembles.  This trio represent Jupe by Jackie, the charming label designed by Dutch designer Jackie Villevoye, who I encountered a while back at the Pitti Uomo tradeshow.  I knew her as a mens’ accessory designer, specialising in hand embroidered ties, bow ties, pocket squares and all things dapper.

Since then it’s her clothing line Jupe by Jackie, which has come to the forefront for me, especially as it’s been championed by the likes of Dover Street Market and Tokyo’s Comme des Garcons Trading Museum and colette in Paris.  There’s an element of surprise when you hap onto Jackie’s pieces, because they do so endearingly speak to your inner girly girl.  The girl who, has a penchant for peter pan collars, empire line party dresses and flowers drawn in the way that a five year old would draw them (circle, petal, petal, petal).  When photographed on a Jupe by Jackie gang of three, that charm is multiplied.  You kind of want to high-five them for rejecting the highly-visible trend treadmill (Sportswear!  Prada faces!  Celine paint splashes! – Oops, I’m the guilty party on all accounts) and sauntering along in their bon ton togs, smiling their teethy smiles and exuding a carefree spirit.  Can you tell I was well jelz watching them skip along the street, as I was standing there like a wet lemon?

Photograph from Vogue.co.uk

Photographs by Tommy Ton for Style.com

A further dig at Jackie’s references for Jupe by Jackie and there are nuances to be found.  The surface of her clothes might appear naive and childish but embedded in these clothes is a spirit that is at once playful and elegant at the same time, as she looks to to both children in school uniforms and haughty muses, who can pull off men’s suiting.  They combine in Jupe by Jackie’s overall attitude and silhouettes.

Jupe by Jackie’s A/W 14 collection is really a continued assertion of Jackie’s aesthetic – a five year old’s Sunday Best meets Victoria street urchin made for grown women.  It’s as if Jackie is going for something deliberately old-fashioned and anti-now to combat the noise of current fashion climate where neoprene, crop tops and sweatshirts rule.  I’m scratching my head why taffeta doesn’t feature more in my wardrobe as Jackie uses it in abundance.

Rei Kawakubo is clearly a fan as for the second season, she has collaborated with Jupe by Jackie to create a few pieces that feature in the Comme des Garçons Comme des Garçons collection – otherwise known as the Comme Comme collection, a line of the core basics of CdG, that gets shown in discreet fashion to buyers every season.  Here, Jupe by Jackie applied her embroidery designs to some of the dresses and shirts, and they will be co-branded on the label to sell, in true Comme family style.

The real central focus of Jupe by Jackie though are the Indian artisans, who she works with to do all the beautiful hand embroidery.  It’s hard to fathom how every stitch is applied to fabric so Jackie has handily created a series of films to illustrate the amount of work that goes into the embroidery.  It’s mesmerising watching these fingers push thread and needle through the fabric.  Behind Jupe by Jackie’s light-hearted jolliness, there is a weighty gravitas that can be seen in her passion for Indian artisanal embroidery.