Jacquemus AW13

Pulling on blue plastic covers over your shoes to enter a local public pool isn't exactly something you’d expect to do on the first day of Paris Fashion Week. The stiff rigours of Fédération Française de la Couture’s timetabling are loosening up though. The very presence of Jacquemus, the label designed by the young Simon Porte Jacquemus, is proof enough that youth-bound energy does exist in Paris. Porte's inspiration often comes from his smalltown Provence upbringing and his teenage exploits. And so here we all were, sitting inside the Piscine de la Cour des Lion, breathing in chlorine and reminiscing about our less-than-glamorous school pool days. Turns out, Porte was doing the same thing when thinking up his poolside Jacquemus girl.

She's stomping around to 'Encore en Fois' (Tuuuuuuuuune! Sash!) in pool sliders in le sportif uniforms of pinstriped suits, nifty boiled wool jackets and matching skirts, chef's apron stripes turned into oversized tees printed with the suggestion of a swimsuit outline. She can splash about in PVC tops and sheer skirts. She's a bit bored with her beanie on and yet she loves her nation as the tricolore French colours runs throughout the whole collection. The best way to sum up the attitude of this season's Jacquemus girl is the impression Porte enacted backstage after the show, slumping the body into a Kevin the Teenager pose, propping up his chin with one hand and putting on a decidedly stony look on his face. "She’s nonchalant, as always."