EXCLUSIVE: Jacquemus Pops the Champagne With Veuve Clicquot

PARIS — Between well-received collections, ongoing international expansion and an upcoming first fragrance, Simon Porte Jacquemus has plenty of reasons to pop the bubbly.

Now his label’s fans will have one too.

Veuve Clicquot has tapped the French designer for a collaboration spanning a limited-edition bottle of its La Grande Dame 2018 vintage and a sculptural cooler set.

For the Champagne house’s chief executive officer Jean-Marc Gallot, the partnership “felt not only meant to be, but inevitable,” he told WWD exclusively.

Both brands have strong women as muses, respectively Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, who became known as “The Grande Dame of Champagne” for her role in transforming the industry, and Valérie Jacquemus, the designer’s late mother and his constant source of inspiration.

“He truly embodies our ‘solaire’ ethos, that sunny optimism that drives the spirit of Veuve Clicquot. Simon’s joy is contagious, evoking sun-drenched days in the South of France and spreading joy to those around him,” the CEO continued. “We also share a love of yellow — our house’s iconic hue and Simon’s favorite color.”

This sunny signature is among the aspects that make the limited edition readily recognizable.

Another is Jacquemus’ signature and handwritten elements, appearing both on the gift box and on the white linen draped around bottles. The latter is meant to evoke heirloom textiles “carefully washed, sun-dried and started with Marseille soap,” as well as an old Italian method for keeping bottles by wrapping clothes soaked in water around them.

Jacquemus described the design as “the outcome of simple materials, meaningful gestures and strong women’s stories, yet it is ultimately a celebration of — and for — optimistic and memorable moments.”

In addition to the limited-edition bottles priced at 220 euros each, there’s a sculptural “Rafraîchissoir” that comprises a Champagne cooler and tray.

The cooler was designed by Jacquemus in collaboration with French master metalsmith Camille Gras, who has been awarded the Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant, or Company of Living Heritage, label for his Camille Orfèvre workshop in Paris’ Marais district.

The bucket, inspired by Medici vases and featuring Gras’ signatures such as rounded square handles and a fish trompe-l’œil that nods to his Mediterranean roots, takes some 40 hours to make.

Limited to 50 numbered pieces manufactured only on request and able to be customized, the set comes with glassware, magnum bottles of La Grande Dame 2018 and 2012 vintages as well as a Jeroboam of the 1990 vintage, nodding to Jacquemus’ birth year.

Owners will also receive an invitation to spend a night at Veuve Clicquot’s Hôtel du Marc in Reims, France.

“Veuve Clicquot has always had a deep connection with design, and this collaboration once again transforms La Grande Dame into more than just a cuvée — it becomes a lifestyle statement and a work of art,” Gallot said. “We’re seeing more and more consumers drawn to collectible, limited-edition bottles, not just for what’s inside, but for the meaning and craftsmanship they represent.”

For its Grande Dame “cuvée prestige,” an appellation that designates a Champagne-maker’s top vintage, Veuve Clicquot previously tapped Stella McCartney last year, Italian ceramics artist Paola Paronetto in 2023 and prior to that, Yayoi Kusama.

The Grande Dame 2018 limited edition with Jacquemus will make its debut in the U.S. on Sept. 9, before being available in the U.K., Italy and France in September and October.