Lemaire isn't for everyone and that's how it should be
It was a weekday when Jappy Gonzalez sent out dinner invitations timed to catch the sunset over Taal Lake in a Budji Layug-designed villa. “Come as you are, homme et femme” —that’s it. No mention of the brand, no celebrity endorsement, yet culture-making collaborators of all kinds — stars in their own right and field — came for the mystery and stayed for the surprise.
Gonzalez was intrigued by the documentary The Lost Leonardo, referring to the enigmatic “Salvator Mundi” painting, the most expensive and coveted work by the Renaissance master.
“They never showed the work. They only showed people reacting to the work,” he recalls.
Gonzalez is the founder of H&F Retail Concepts, the umbrella company of multi-concept stores Homme et Femme and Univers and the local home of Comme des Garçons, Off-White, and Officine Universelle Buly. It’s his work in shaping Filipino luxury retail that placed him among Business of Fashion’s 500 global fashion forces in 2017.
Inside Univers alone, the Eduardo Calma-designed store in Rockwell, the curated current-season selection features Jil Sander and Thom Browne and up-and-coming talents like Bode and, in a sold-out feat, a collaboration with Filipino fashion designer Carl Jan Cruz.
“Every brand that we chose identifies with us and resonates with us, where we are today, and where we want to go,” he says. “Now is the time for Lemaire.”
Why? “People have gone back to their core values. Their real values,” he emphasizes. “Not because of social media or your stature. It’s more of being yourself.”
Following the “clean, sleek and interesting” dinner by chef Margarita Fores inspired by the brand, Gonzalez opened a cavern-like room to a discreet runway viewing, the spring/summer 2023 selection up-close revealing Homme et Femme’s newest brand.
Just like in The Lost Leonardo, the viewing was on view in real-time on an Instagram livestream without once displaying the clothes. Instead, Gonzalez honed in on how guests reacted to the clothes.
Editor and stylist Pam Quinones gravitated to the TikTok viral croissant bag and then the skirt that looks just as good on editor Christian San Jose. Photographer Koji Arboleda and creative director Christian Tantoco had (jokingly) discussed shared ownership of a pair of shoes. Cruz styled a top on creative director Nimu Muallam in at least three ways. Cecile Zamora and Dr. Gerard Henson were spotted checking out the parachute shirts before their set. Lemaire’s sleek silhouettes and functional yet elevated details make it a perfect fit for any style — almost.
“Lemaire is quite natural. You will relate to something. It is almost for everybody,” Gonzalez explains.
Lemaire, founded by Christophe Lemaire in 1990 and co-designed with his partner Sarah Linh Tran since 2014, is a breath of fresh air in an industry that fights for eyeballs with logos and personas by simply being about the clothes — beautiful, well-made clothes. Craftsmanship and fabric quality are essential to the independent company, and silhouettes are perfected season after season, eschewing trends.
You may be streamlining your wardrobe the Lemaire way without even knowing it. Lemaire was creative director at Lacoste and Hermès before he returned to his brand. He is also Uniqlo U’s Research and Development Center artistic director. Lemaire has made democratic — and desirable — the pursuit of simplicity and quiet sophistication.
Still, just like the quiet luxury buzz that’s taking social media by storm, Gonzalez says, “Either you are or you are not. You can aspire to it, but people actually live it.”
He sums up, “Style should be an extension of yourself.”
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In the Philippines, Lemaire is in Homme et Femme, 8 Rockwell, Makati.
