An 80-year-old grandmother just became the first ever brand ambassador for this designer
Two days ago, designer Simon Porte Jacquemus posted the following to his Instagram page. It read: "Good evening. This week I’ll announce my very first Jacquemus ambassador… I can’t believe it. See you soon." There were a few obvious predictions. Would it be K-pop sensation Lisa, who just wore a custom Jacquemus dress to the Golden Globes (https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/golden-globes/) ? Or perhaps Kendall Jenner or Bella Hadid, both of whom have walked his runways and worn his designs off duty? Wrong on all fronts. As Jacquemus announced this morning, his very first brand ambassador isn’t a celebrity or supermodel – it’s his 79-year-old grandmother, Liline Jacquemus.
"Before anything, there was her," he wrote in the Instagram post sharing the news (https://www.instagram.com/p/DT2p689iJqj/). "Before Jacquemus even existed, she was already my inspiration. Her strength, her elegance, her authenticity… she shaped the way I see women, and the way I imagine the maison."
It’s no secret that the women in Jacquemus's family have been his muses for as long as his brand has existed. During the pandemic in 2020, he photographed his grandmother at home for a summer campaign. He has often spoken about how she and his late mother are his creative touchstones. But although his sentiment towards the matriarchs in his family is heartfelt, he's also being tongue-in-cheek about today's news.
At the end of his announcement, Jacquemus outlined the contractual "commitments" Liline must adhere to in her new role: "The ambassador must adhere to a full look policy at all times, without exception. The ambassador must not be seen, photographed, sketched, remembered, or emotionally associated with any Maison that is not Jacquemus." And so on.
Jacquemus has built a globally successful brand, with six stores globally and a devoted fandom of It girls and those who want to dress like them. Part of his appeal is his sense of humour, so perhaps it's not a surprise to see him appoint his grandmother as an ambassador at a time when luxury fashion is experiencing peak ambassador overload. One need only read Vanity Fair style correspondent José Criales-Unzueta’s illuminating breakdown of celebrity brand ambassadors (https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/what-is-a-fashion-celebrity-brand-ambassador-guide?srsltid=AfmBOop05R0PIQwFNRA8KtCACyb6HxobzHQUExs57y3ojokFXErf9VYE) to understand how much money and energy is currently being spent on star power to drive sales. Chanel, for instance, reportedly has more than 22 celebrity ambassadors, including A$AP Rocky and Margaret Qualley. Dior has 33—34, if you count the recent announcement that Taylor Russell has joined the roster – and that number doesn’t even include its menswear faces.
This all makes sense from a business perspective, and it’s how things have been done for years. But for a still-evolving brand like Jacquemus to sidestep the typical ambassador-to-media-impressions-to-sales pipeline feels commendably refreshing. It’s also perfectly timed: a funny, subversive announcement dropped right in the middle of awards season.
Liline’s turn as ambassador is undeniably a viral moment, but it’s also powerful to see Jacquemus place an older woman at the centre of his brand universe, especially just two days before his next show at the Picasso Museum in Paris. In 2026, luxury fashion still overwhelmingly banks on youth, despite occasional exceptions, like Jonathan Anderson casting 88-year-old Dame Maggie Smith (https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/culture/a62406872/maggie-smith-dies/) in a Loewe campaign in 2023, or Joan Didion (https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/culture/g38604804/joan-didion-books/) fronting Céline in 2015. We need more faces that get better with age, and more recognition from brands that older women are not only muses but viable luxury consumers, too.
