An Exclusive Behind-The-Scenes Look At Simon Porte Jacquemus’s Directorial Debut For Nike

10 Jul 2024

Introducing Simon Porte Jacquemus, film director.

Well, sort of. The French designer, known for his cinematic runway show locations and playful, not to mention viral, campaigns has directed a video for the latest drop of his ongoing collaboration with Nike. The video is a love letter to Paris as seen through the jolly eyes of Jacquemus, and features a cast of characters and friends (of Nike, Jacquemus, and the designer himself), including Serena Williams, Manu Rios, Central Cee, Carine Roitfeld, Amina Muaddi and many, many more.

“I started the conversation with Nike directly talking about a movie to present this new collection,” said Jacquemus, explaining that Nike TV commercials were a personal obsession when he was young. (Who can forget the legendary Nike basketball freestyle commercial from 2001, after all?) The designer’s just-under-two-minutes spot takes the viewer on a whirlwind tour of Paris: there’s Lila Moss posing on a boat while cruising down the Seine, Tina Kunakey running past the Eiffel Tower, chef Jean Imbert serving up a new pair of Air Max 1s, and ballet dancer Guillaume Diop kayaking in the Fontaine Saint-Sulpice.

“I started to draw crazy ideas about Paris, my own vision of it,” said Jacquemus of the storyboarding process behind this ambitious montage. “I drew around 80 scenes and we decided to do the full video.” The designer explained that the iconic mid-century French director (and occasional mime) Jacques Tati was top of mind, the kooky situations and scenes he often envisioned for his characters being a key reference point for this short.

The collection and the film also nod to the Paris Olympics. “The ultimate goal was to collaborate on the Paris Olympics,” said Jacquemus. “Something blue, white, red, to reference the French flag.” The 10-piece capsule includes red and white Nike swoosh-shaped shoulder bags, two colourways of Air Max 1 sneakers, and reworked sports bras, skirts and tracksuits. “For me, the most important thing was to represent France and its best talents, culture, and history,” said the designer.

Jacquemus likened the filmmaking experience to working on a runway production. “When I start working on a show, I always draw scenes and recreate images from my memories and obsessions. It was the same process here, even if it was a movie.” So, is there a feature-length film in his future? We can’t help but wonder what the Jacquemus equivalent to Tom Ford’s A Single Man would look like.