WINNER’S CIRCLE: Espace Niemeyer, the funky headquarters of the French Communist Party in Paris, was host to an event Thursday night that incited materialist proclivities.
“Do you want to win?” fashion journalist Loïc Prigent called out to the crowd assembled under the domed conference room for a bingo night organized by Jacquemus.
The young, up-for-it players shouted back a resounding “oui,” readying silvery square and round tiles to place on their cardboard cards, done up in the layout of the French version of the game, known as “la loterie.”
The bingo cards and chips at the Jacquemus holiday party.
Courtesy of Jacquemus
Prigent gingerly plucked number balls from an air-driven lottery drawing machine, similar to those on game shows of yore, doing his best to build suspense, and sharing tidbits of number-related fashion lore: five and 31 indicative of Chanel’s famous perfume and Rue Cambon address, 47 for Christian Dior’s founding year.
He also talked up the loot: a bounty of knitted caps, scarves and gloves — plus the latest Jacquemus handbags, including a silvery Bisou, a yellow Turismo and the round shearling bag that Alex Consani has been modeling on a rowing machine on the brand’s Instagram feed, racking up almost 300,000 likes.
All were displayed on white plinths behind Prigent, who seemed to relish a tie-breaker that had two bingo winners drawing numbered balls out of a Turismo bag.
Founder Simon Porte Jacquemus appeared for the final round, with the grand prize of a 2,000-euro shopping spree at the brand’s Avenue Montaigne flagship.
All players stood, including the designer, as Prigent called out numbers, the goal being to have an empty card and not have to sit down when one of your numbers was called.
While the holiday event yielded only 10 big winners, all guests went home with a set of silver and golden Jacquemus Christmas ornaments in the shape of the accessories that have become the backbone of his fast-growing house.