Jacquemus' Versailles Show Was a Love Letter to Princess Diana

Gigi Hadid and models walk the runway during "Le Chouchou" Jacquemus' Fashion Show at Chateau de Versailles on June 26, 2023 in Versailles, France. — (Image credit: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

When Simon Porte Jacquemus stages a runway, you pay attention. You watch for the clothes, of course, which exude nonchalance, sex appeal, and a certain "It" quality that countless other brands so desperately attempt to recreate. But you're also itching to witness the spectacle of it all—the setting, the A-lister attendees, the copious Instagrammable details—that the French designer has become known for. Jacquemus' Fall/Winter 2023 collection, held at Versailles on June 26, was no exception to his lauded legacy.

Entitled "Le Chouchou," the showing was filled with tutu panniers, sheer peplum tops, and bubble hems—a frothy and feminine mix that will leave you craving cake. But surprisingly, Marie Antoinette, the famed royal who lived lavishly in the castle and encouraged her civilians to feast on confections, wasn't the eponymous designer's inspiration. In an interview with Vogue, the designer revealed that Jacquemus' Versailles show was an homage to Princess Diana.

Beyond just iconic '80s style codes, like the über-exaggerated puff sleeves that the designer revealed “will become a signature of Jacquemus," there were explicit references to some of Princess Diana's most iconic fashion moments. Kendall Jenner walked the runway in a cumulus cloud-like mini romper that closely resembled the late royal's puffed-up wedding gown. Jenner also wore a pearl choker necklace fit with a sapphire center, an explicit reference to the jewelry Princess Diana wore with her revenge dress. In fact, that necklace is one of the more ubiquitous and oft-recreated pieces of fashion's history: You recently saw another recreation of the famed three-strand choker on The Crown season five worn by Elizabeth Debicki as the people's princess.

Kendall Jenner walks the runway during &quot;Le Chouchou&quot; Jacquemus' Fashion Show at Chateau de Versailles on June 26, 2023 in Versailles, France. (Photo by Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

Princess Diana in her white puffy wedding gown

Princess Diana in her black revenge dress and pearl and sapphire choker necklace

Here's another reference to the late Princess of Wales' style that studied fans will recognize: Imaan Hammam wore a nipped-in blazer with black and white polka-dotted micro shorts bubbling underneath and cap-toe pumps. Flashback to the 1987 Cannes Film Festival, where Lady Di wore a tailored blazer with a black and white striped puff-hem dress that frothed under the hem and black and white cap-toe pumps.

A model walks the runway during &quot;Le Chouchou&quot; Jacquemus' Fashion Show at Chateau de Versailles on June 26, 2023 in Versailles, France.

Princess Diana In Cannes Wearing A Puff-ball Skirt.

Take a look at some more stand-out looks from the Jacquemus Versailles Show below. Can you spot any more homages to the one, the only Princess Diana?

Models walking in Jacquemus Versailles show

models walks the runway during &quot;Le Chouchou&quot; Jacquemus' Fashion Show at Chateau de Versailles on June 26, 2023 in Versailles, France.

TOPICS

Emma Childs is the fashion features editor at Marie Claire, where she explores the intersection of style, culture, and human interest storytelling. She covers zeitgeist-y style moments—like TikTok's "Olsen Tuck" and Substack's "Shirt Sandwiches"—and has written hundreds of runway-researched trend reports. Above all, Emma enjoys connecting with real people about style, from designers, athlete stylists, politicians, and C-suite executives.

Emma previously wrote for The Zoe Report, Editorialist, Elite Daily, and Bustle, and she studied Fashion Studies and New Media at Fordham University Lincoln Center. When Emma isn't writing about niche fashion discourse on the internet, you'll find her shopping designer vintage, doing hot yoga, and befriending bodega cats.