SOLANGE KNOWLES, SIMON PORTE JACQUEMUS, JULIA ROBERTS. Photography NEIL RASMUS/BFA.COM
Julia Roberts joins Simon Porte Jacquemus at Veuve Clicquot Collaboration. Anders Christian Madsen reports.
The day after her 72 Magazine cover reveal, Julia Roberts joined Simon Porte Jacquemus at the launch of his Veuve Clicquot collaboration in New York City. On Tuesday evening, Porte took out the Boathouse in the heart of Central Park for the dinner, preceded by a champagne reception by The Lake. The picturesque scenery was unmistakably Jacquemus: Couples clad in stripy shirts and chinos rowing around in boats under the evening sun, accompanied by an orchestra (also in boats) serenading the union of the digital-age designer and the heritage champagne house.
Waiters dressed in stripy, yellow aprons poured champagne from Porte’s La Grande Dame 2018 Veuve Clicquot bottles. Labelled with a handwritten logo and signature by the designer on a romantically edged yellow etiquette embossed with sun rays, the €220 limited-edition bottle is draped with white linen evoking heirlooms cloths; washed, dried in the sun and starched with soap from Porte’s native Marseille. The visual languages of the two collaborators were an easy union: The signature yellow of Veuve Clicquot happens to be Porte’s favourite color.
SOLANGE KNOWLES and IMAAN HAMMAM, Photography DARIAN DICIANNO/BFA.COM
Photography NEIL RASMUS/BFA.COM
“We found common values in joy, optimism and conviviality,” Jean-Marc Gallot, the CEO of Veuve Clicquot, said of the partnership. Porte had been reflecting on the champagne’s founder Barbe-Nicole Clicquot, who, at age 27, took over the company after her husband’s death in 1805. An unusual move for a woman of the era, the “Widow Clicquot” – whose venture was highly successful – rose as an example of female empowerment. Porte mirrored her in the image of his own mother and lifelong muse, calling the collaboration “the outcome of simple materials, meaningful gestures and strong women’s stories.”
As part of the collaboration, Porte has revived the at-home champagne ritual with a custom “rafraîchissoir”: an 18th-century concoction that combines a champagne cooler with a piece of furniture. Available upon request, the design – which was inspired by Medici vases and the fish trompe l’oeil motifs native to Porte’s Mediterranean roots – features a silver champagne bucket and glass cooler hand-crafted by the silversmith Camille Orfèvre.
The relationship between champagne houses and the fashion and art world is storied. In 2012 and 2020, Yayoi Kusama added her characteristic dots to Veuve Clicquot’s yellow iconography. In 2018, Virgil Abloh created the “Do not drop” label for fellow LVMH-owned house Moët & Chandon, and the likes of Jeff Koons, David Lynch and Lady Gaga have collaborated with Dom Pérignon, likewise part of the LVMH roster. “Only the unimaginative can fail to find a reason for drinking champagne,” as Oscar Wilde said.
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